Thisnumberiscalledthe "grossdomesticproduct", orGDP, anditwasinventedbytheeconomistSimonKuznetsinthe 1930s totryandgaugethesizeofaneconomyin a single, easy-to-understandnumber.
GDPisthetotalmonetaryvalueofeverything a countryproducesandsellsonthemarket.
Tothisday, GDPpercapita, whichisjustthetotalGDPdividedbythenumberofpeoplelivinginthatcountry, iswidelyseenas a measureofwell-being.
ButGDPdoesn't actuallysayanythingdirectaboutwell-beingbecauseitdoesn't takeintoaccountwhat a countryproducesorwhohasaccesstoit.
A milliondollarsofweaponscontributestheexactsameamountto a country's GDPas a milliondollarsofvaccinesorfood.
Meanwhile, a metriccalledtheSustainableDevelopmentIndexfactorsinbothwell-beingandtheenvironmentalburdensofeconomicgrowth, again, boilingallthisdownto a singlenumber.