Central indicators

An important part of measuring quality of life is gaining an understanding of how people in Canada perceive their personal well-being. Overarching measures of subjective well-being provide a useful barometer of how life is going in general, and understanding the drivers of inequalities in subjective well-being can shed light on what matters most in people's lives.

Subjective well-being can be measured in a variety of ways. One approach seeks to understand how people assess the quality of their own lives, according to their own chosen set of criteria (known as the evaluative approach). Another aims to understand the extent to which people experience a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives (known as the eudaimonic approach). A third approach seeks to understand people's predictions about their future well-being.

At the core of the Quality of Life Framework are three indicators of subjective well-being. These can help us understand both current well-being and expectations about future well-being.

Note: Indicators marked with a star (a star icon) are headline indicators, which are intended to provide a high-level assessment of overall quality of life in Canada.

• Life satisfaction headline indicator
• Sense of meaning and purpose headline indicator
• Future outlook headline indicator

Data snapshots