This Global Happiness Council Policy Report, which has been long delayed by the pandemic, uses a well-being lens to assess COVID-19 effects and policies, with the goal of sharing some lessons for future policies.

In the three years since the last Global Happiness and Well-Being Policy Report, governments have faced a cascade of challenges to the well-being of their populations. Two of the three most important preceded COVID-19. First, governments have witnessed growing demands to recognize and redress long-standing and, in many places, growing inequalities of incomes, basic human rights, parity of esteem, and access to public services, both within and among nations. Second, the need for rapid and coordinated actions to limit and mitigate the effects of climate change has become increasingly urgent, with the escalating pace and severity of extreme climate events. The third challenge has, of course, been COVID-19.