On our demo site, we have an app with a number of demographic measures per country. You can find it at http://sense-demo.qlik.com under the name Happiness. It analyzes, among other demographic indexes, the Happy Planet Index (HPI) in a number of countries. You can learn more about this index at www.happyplanetindex.org.
This index measures the sustainable well-being of 151 countries across the globe, focusing not on their abilities to produce material goods and services, but rather on their abilities to produce long, happy, and sustainable lives for the people who live in them. A happy life doesn't have to come at the expense of our environment, and the HPI is used to promote a policy that puts the well-being of people and the planet first.
Below this overview, you will see a number of sheets. The leftmost sheet is an introduction, whereas the other sheets are prepared for analysis and detailed information.
If you click on the Stories button to the left, you will see that the app also contains one story—a story that can be used to present data in the app. It can also be used as an introduction to the app the first time you open it.
The first sheet is an introduction sheet that explains what the app is all about. The second sheet, which is the first one with traditional charts, is called Happy Planet Index (HPI). On it, you will see the happiness index for all countries, first on a map, and then in a table.
The countries in the map are colored according to the happiness index—the darker the color, the higher the happiness index.
Below the map, there are three scatter charts showing the happiness index per country, plotted against the life expectancy, GDP per capita, and total population. These three charts are excellent tools to analyze any correlation between happiness and the mentioned demographic measures.
Finally, at the bottom, you have three filter panes, allowing the user to choose only a region, subregion, or country to zoom in the numbers for a specific area.
The other sheets contain additional and more detailed information, ordered by topics. The final sheet contains a table showing the details, should the user be interested in drilling down to the lowest level.
When looking at data in this app, the first question that pops up in the user's mind is usually, "Is there any correlation between happiness and x?" To get a qualitative answer to this, you only need to browse through the scatter charts.
On the Happy Planet Index (HPI) sheet, you have three scatter charts. In the leftmost chart, HPI vs Life Expectancy, you can see a correlation between the two measures, at least for lower life expectancies. In the other two charts, however, there is no clear correlation.
On the HPI Comparison sheet, you have three additional scatter charts. In the leftmost chart, HPI vs Happy Life Years, you can see a weak correlation between the two measures. The same is true for the rightmost chart, HPI vs Global Footprint, but in the chart in the middle (HPI vs Governance), there is no clear correlation.
However, as in all statistics, you have to be careful with your conclusions. Firstly, correlation does not imply causation. You have to look at many factors and use common sense to find the true cause and effect. In this case, it is just that the happiness index is an artificial index calculated from the life expectancy and ecological footprint among others, hence the correlation with happy life years and global footprint.
Now, let's explore the data. One question could be, "Where in the world do we find the countries with a low average life expectancy?" To answer this, you need to make a selection in the scatter chart showing life expectancy:
If you now look at the map, you will see where these countries appear in the world. It's predominantly Africa and South Asia. If you click on the map, you can zoom in using the scroll wheel of the mouse. You can also pan the map.
Of course, you can also make a selection the other way round. Use the lasso selector in the map and see how the selected countries are distributed in the scatter chart. The way to do this is as follows:
You can also use the global selector to make selections. Just click on the global selector and make selections directly in the fields.
For instance, you may have a question like this, "Where in the world do I find the richest countries?" In such a case, perform the following steps:
If you want to find the countries where the GDP is greater than $10,000, perform the following steps:
>10000
.If you now close the global selector and go back to the map and the scatter charts, you will be able to see where you find the richest countries, both on the map and in the scatter charts.