Assessing sustainable wellbeing in Africa through “Years of Good Life”

Abstract

The ultimate end of sustainable development can be defined as achieving sustainable human wellbeing. With the intention of measuring this, an indicator that aims to capture the universal constituents of sustainable human wellbeing titled “Years of Good Life” (YoGL) was designed (Lutz et al., 2021). Based on the demographic life table approach, YoGL assumes that being alive is the fundamental prerequisite for enjoying any quality of life. However, as mere survival is not seen as sufficient, being above minimum thresholds in the dimensions of material, physical and cognitive wellbeing, as well as the subjective dimension of life satisfaction, is required. This paper aims to explore the concept of sustainable wellbeing and assess it in Africa through YoGL, using a mixed methods approach.

Firstly, the paper presents results from focus group discussions in South Africa aimed at understanding cultural differences in the perception of human well-being. Secondly, a comparative analysis of YoGL across 46 African countries over the period of 1950–2015 is carried out, giving special emphasis to the differentiation by gender. Again, taking South Africa as a case study, trends in the different constituents of gender-specific wellbeing are examined. Turning to the future, the paper looks at YoGL as the output variable in a multi-sector global systems model which also incorporates feedbacks from social, economic and environmental change on human wellbeing over the rest of this century.