How We Calculate Luck
This page explains our methodology in plain language. We believe transparency is essential when presenting data that shapes how people see their place in the world.
The Two Components
Your overall "luck score" combines two distinct measures, each weighted 50%:
This measures the circumstances you were largely born into—factors outside your personal control that significantly affect life outcomes.
Calculation: We compute z-scores for each available index, weight them according to their reliability and impact, and convert the weighted average to a 0-100 percentile.
This measures your current economic position—income and wealth—relative to others in your country and globally.
Calculation: Income is converted to PPP dollars and compared against distribution thresholds. Wealth is compared globally. The combined score weights income at 60% and wealth at 40%.
Data Sources
World Happiness Report 2024
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Life satisfaction scores (0-10 Cantril Ladder) from Gallup World Poll surveys across 150+ countries.
View sourceHuman Development Index 2023/24
United Nations Development Programme
Composite index of life expectancy, education, and per capita income (0-1 scale).
View sourceDemocracy Index 2024
Economist Intelligence Unit
Assessment of electoral process, civil liberties, government functioning (0-10 scale).
View sourceQuality of Life Index 2025
Numbeo
Crowdsourced index combining cost of living, safety, healthcare, and more.
View sourceLife Expectancy Data
WHO / Our World in Data
Healthy life expectancy at birth (HALE) in years.
View sourceIncome Distribution
WIID / World Inequality Database
Income percentile thresholds by country, converted to PPP international dollars.
View sourceGlobal Wealth Data
UBS Global Wealth Report 2024
Net worth distribution thresholds globally and by country.
View sourcePPP Conversion Factors
World Bank ICP
Purchasing Power Parity conversion factors for accurate income comparison across countries.
View sourceIndex Weights
For the Country Foundations Score, we weight indices based on their methodological rigor and relevance:
* Quality of Life receives lower weight due to its crowdsourced methodology
Limitations & Caveats
Data Gaps
Not all countries have data for all indices. When data is missing, we calculate with available metrics and normalize accordingly. Results for countries with limited data should be interpreted with more caution.
Crowdsourced Data
The Numbeo Quality of Life Index is crowdsourced and may have sampling bias toward urban, internet-connected populations. We weight it lower and flag it in the interface.
What This Doesn't Measure
This tool cannot capture personal health conditions, family circumstances, discrimination, mental well-being, or countless other factors that affect individual life quality. A high score doesn't mean life is easy; a low score doesn't mean life lacks meaning.
PPP Limitations
Purchasing Power Parity adjustments are imperfect. They work best for comparing general living standards but may not reflect prices for specific goods or services in your area.
Why We Built This
The name "Luck Lens" is intentional. Many of the factors that determine our life outcomes—where we're born, to whom, in what economic circumstances—are essentially matters of chance.
This isn't about making anyone feel guilty or superior. It's about providing a data-grounded perspective on the global distribution of circumstances. Understanding where we stand can foster both gratitude and empathy.
We believe that seeing the world more clearly is the first step toward engaging with it more thoughtfully.
Data Freshness
We aim to update our data annually as new reports are released. Individual indices may have different publication schedules.