Barometer | 4 December 2010

Happy talk
David Cameron wants to measure our happiness alongside GDP. The first measure of happiness — the Gross National Happiness index — was instigated by the former king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972.
— Heavily influenced by Buddhist teachings, it contained questions which might not strike many Britons as being important to their happiness. One asked: ‘Do you know the names of species and plants and animals in the local area?’ Another asked: ‘How would you rate your knowledge of the mask and other dances performed during national/local tshechu?’
— Respondents were marked down on the index if they worked less than seven hours a day, if they had more than a 60-minute walk to the nearest health centre and if they donated less than 10 per cent of their income to charity.

Family size
A newly nominated Tory peer, Howard Flight, apologised after criticising the benefits system for encouraging the poor to have more children. How many more children do the less well-off have?


Father’s social class	% of children born in 2008 with three or more siblings
1.1 Large employers, top managers	4.0
1.2 Higher professions	3.8
2 Lower professions/higher technical	5.3
3 Intermediate	4.7
4 Small employer/self-employed	12
5 Lower supervisory/technical	8.3
6 Semi-routine occupations	11
7 Routine occupations	14
Source: ONS

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Foreign-born prisoners
Switzerland voted in a referendum for the automatic deportation of criminals convicted of serious offences. The number of foreign nationals in British prisons has been growing too.

Foreign-born prisoners	Year	Percentage of prisoners
5,133	1998	8
7,719	2002	11
10,879	2006	14.1
11,135	2010	13.6
Source: House of Commons Library

Cold comfort
Britain’s low-temperature record is the third mildest in Europe:
Portugal: -16C
Ireland: -19.1C
Great Britain: -27.2C
Netherlands: -27.4C
Greece: -27.8C
Sweden (lowest excluding Russia): -52.6C