Thai PM likes Bhutan’s joy

Thailand's army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says that the kingdom should measure the happiness of its people as well as the growth of its economy.

Thailand's army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Monday that the kingdom should measure the happiness of its people as well as the growth of its economy.

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Surayud spoke as he met caretaker Prime Minister Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji of Bhutan, which has embraced the concept of "gross national happiness" as a guiding tenet of its development.

"We are gathered in concern for the well-being of our people spiritually, mentally and physically," Surayud told reporters. "We have learned that growth cannot be measured in numbers and GDP alone. It must also be measured through the well-being of the people," he added.

Himalayan Kingdom Bhutan is ranked near the bottom of the world's development scale, so the landlocked country invented a unique way to measure progress by citing gross national happiness (GNH) ahead of the GDP.