Jersey’s Better Life Index
Jersey’s Better Life Index provides a measure of the Island’s well-being. It is based on social, environmental, and economic measures, together with individuals’ ratings of their own lives and surroundings.
Jersey’s overall Better Life Index of 6.4 (out of 10) ranks Jersey 26th out of 41 nations.
This score places Jersey below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, the United Kingdom and France.
Dimensions of well-being
As well as presenting an overall headline measure, this framework enables comparison of Jersey with OECD member countries and partners in terms of 11 topics (“dimensions”) relating to material conditions and quality of life.
In the following comparisons the most recently available data from the OECD is used, data for Jersey is from either the same reference year or the closest year available to enable fair comparisons.
Using the drop-down list below you can view each dimension individually, with a chart showing the relative score for the dimension:
Better Life Index for Jersey and OECD countries
Regional comparisons
As well as comparisons at a national level, the Better Life Index framework also allows for well-being comparisons to be made across, smaller sub-national “regions”. These are defined as the first tier of-sub-national government – for example, states in the USA, provinces in Canada or regions in France.
On this basis Jersey’s overall regional well-being score of 7.2 (out of 10) placed it 148th out of 448 regions.
You can access the full regional results below in the Find data and past reports section.
Data sources and methods
The “Better Life Index” developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a widely used measure of well-being. The OECD is an international organisation, comprising 38 member countries and several partners, which has the mission of promoting policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
As well as presenting an overall headline measure, this framework enables comparison of Jersey with OECD member countries and partners in terms of 11 topics (“dimensions”) relating to material conditions and quality of life.
Data for OECD countries and partners is publicly available but subject to OECD copyright. National data is from multiple sources within the OECD data explorer (downloaded on 26/03/2024). Regional data is from the OECD regional well-being database (downloaded on 25/03/2024).
Dimensions and indicators
The framework for the OECD Better Life Index considers data in 11 “dimensions” of well-being. The following table lists the indicators in the OECD Better Life Index at the national and regional levels. Most indicators have been included in the Jersey Better Life Index. However, there are additional OECD indicators not used due to a lack of comparable data currently available for Jersey, which are highlighted in red italics in the table. Hence, scores published in Jersey’s Better Life Index statistics may vary compared to those published by the OECD.
| Dimension | National well-being indicators | Regional well-being indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Income | – Household net adjusted disposable income – Household net financial wealth | – Household disposable income |
| Jobs | – Employment rate – Long-term unemployment rate – Average annual earnings per employee – Labour market insecurity | – Employment rate – Unemployment rate |
| Housing | – Number of rooms per person – Housing expenditure – Dwellings without basic facilities | – Number of rooms per person |
| Health status | – Life expectancy at birth – Self-reported health status | – Life expectancy at birth – Age adjusted mortality rate |
| Education and skills | – Educational attainment – Students’ cognitive skills (PISA) – Years in education | – Educational attainment |
| Environment quality | – Air quality – Satisfaction with water quality | – Air quality |
| Personal safety | – Homicide rate – Feeling safe walking alone at night | – Homicide rate |
| Civic engagement and governance | – Voter turnout – Consultation on stakeholder engagement | – Voter turnout |
| Accessibility of services | N/A | – Broadband connection – Internet download speed |
| Work-life balance | – Employees working very long hours – Time devoted to leisure and personal care | N/A |
| Community | – Social network support | – Social network support |
| Subjective well-being | – Life satisfaction | – Life satisfaction |
Find data and past reports
Find past reports on our release calendar.
You can find better life index data on the open data website.
Data for OECD countries and partners is publicly available but subject to OECD copyright. National data is from multiple sources within the OECD data explorer (downloaded on 26/03/2024). Regional data is from the OECD regional well-being database (downloaded on 25/03/2024).