# Human Warmth Index Methodology

**Version:** 1.0
**Date:** April 2026
**Source:** World Happiness Report 2026, Gallup World Poll 2023–2025 average

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## What is the Human Warmth Index?

The Human Warmth Index is a **branded composite** — not an official World Happiness Report product. It combines four WHR 2026 metrics that measure daily emotional experience and social connection, designed to surface what life actually feels like in Paraguay rather than how wealthy or developed the country appears on aggregate metrics.

---

## Component Selection

The index uses four WHR 2026 factors:

1. **Positive affect** — How often do respondents experience joy, fun, and laughter in a typical day?
2. **Youth happiness** — Life satisfaction among respondents under age 25
3. **Freedom to make life choices** — Sense of autonomy in life decisions
4. **Social support** — Having relatives or friends to count on in times of trouble

**Excluded metrics:**
- **Life Evaluation (overall happiness)** — Dominated by GDP per capita and life expectancy; does not measure daily warmth
- **Generosity** — Measures charitable giving, not warmth or sociability
- **Healthy life expectancy** — Health outcome, not a social/emotional metric

---

## Composite Calculation Method

### Min-Max Normalization

Each component is measured on a different scale:
- Positive affect: 0 to 1
- Youth happiness: 0 to 10
- Freedom: 0 to 1
- Social support: 0 to 1

To combine them fairly, each component is normalized using **min-max normalization** across the 14-country comparison set:

```
normalized_score = (raw_score - min) / (max - min)
```

### Composite Score

The Human Warmth Index composite is the **simple average** of the four normalized scores:

```
HWI = (PA_norm + YH_norm + FL_norm + SS_norm) / 4
```

Higher composite scores are better. Countries are ranked by their composite score.

---

## Normalization Boundaries

The min and max values are derived from the 14-country comparison set:

| Component | Min | Max | Min Country | Max Country |
|-----------|-----|-----|-------------|-------------|
| Positive affect | 0.651 | 0.848 | Portugal | Guatemala |
| Youth happiness | 6.373 | 7.782 | Spain | Costa Rica |
| Freedom | 0.730 | 0.941 | USA | Costa Rica |
| Social support | 0.785 | 0.918 | Guatemala | Spain |

---

## Worked Example: Paraguay

| Component | Paraguay Raw | Min | Max | Normalized |
|-----------|-------------|-----|-----|------------|
| Positive affect | 0.838 | 0.651 | 0.848 | (0.838−0.651)/(0.848−0.651) = **0.9492** |
| Youth happiness | 7.150 | 6.373 | 7.782 | (7.150−6.373)/(7.782−6.373) = **0.5515** |
| Freedom | 0.901 | 0.730 | 0.941 | (0.901−0.730)/(0.941−0.730) = **0.8104** |
| Social support | 0.911 | 0.785 | 0.918 | (0.911−0.785)/(0.918−0.785) = **0.9474** |

**Paraguay composite = (0.9492 + 0.5515 + 0.8104 + 0.9474) / 4 = 3.2585 / 4 = 0.8146**

Paraguay ranks **#2 on the Human Warmth Index**, behind Costa Rica (0.9041).

---

## Comparison Country Set

The 14 countries in the comparison set were selected based on:
- Primary comparators: Countries with strong positive affect rankings near Paraguay (Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Uruguay)
- Secondary comparators: Countries important to the commercial audience (USA, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina)

The normalization boundaries (min/max) are derived from this specific comparison set. Using a different country set would produce different normalized scores.

---

## Data Sources

- **World Happiness Report 2026** — Published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network
- **Gallup World Poll** — Primary data collection methodology, 2023–2025 average
- **WHR 2026 Statistical Appendix** — Source for all component rankings and scores

---

## Key Facts

| Metric | Paraguay Value | Global Rank |
|--------|---------------|-------------|
| Positive affect | 0.838 | #2 |
| Youth happiness (age <25) | 7.150 | #17 |
| Freedom to make life choices | 0.901 | #27 |
| Social support | 0.911 | #28 |
| Human Warmth Index composite | 0.8146 | #2 |

---

## Why Not Overall Happiness?

Overall happiness (Life Evaluation) in the WHR includes GDP per capita and life expectancy — material factors that Paraguay cannot compete on internationally. The Human Warmth Index was created specifically to surface Paraguay's strengths in daily emotional experience, which are hidden when everything is averaged together with economic indicators.

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## Updates and Revisions

The Human Warmth Index is a composite calculation. When the WHR releases a new edition, the component rankings and scores will be updated. The normalization boundaries (min/max) will be recalculated based on the comparison country set available at that time.