OECD launches interactive website on regional well-being

The OECD has launched a regional well-being website based on an interactive map covering the organisation’s 34 member countries. It rates 362 sub-national regions with a relative score out of 10 in eight categories: income, health, safety, services, civic engagement, education, jobs and environment and reveals some large disparities. 

The new website is part of the OECD’s Better Life Initiative, which looks beyond economic growth to measure overall well-being.

“Where people live has a huge effect on their quality of life,” said Rolf Alter, OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Director, presenting the website at a conference of the EU Committee of the Regions in Brussels. “By zooming in like this, we can really see the big differences that exist between regions and work out what local and state governments must do to reduce them.”

The eight well-being factors, shown as different-coloured petals, are based on data measured at regional level on household income, life expectancy, homicide rates, broadband access, voter turnout, level of education in the workforce, employment rates and particulate matter in the air. 

The score out of 10 indicates how a region is doing relative to others in the country and across the 34 OECD member countries. Clicking on a petal reveals the underlying indicator and a more detailed scoreboard positioning the region in its country and in the OECD.

Check it out here.