Purpose and Meaning’s Association with 56 Health and Well-Being Outcomes: Evidence from 23 Countries/Territories in the Global Flourishing Study

Background: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organization (WHO) are urging nations to track and promote purpose and meaning as core indicators of population well-being and societal progress. However, a critical gap persists: a lack of cross-cultural evidence needed to support global implementation.Methods: To address this gap, we analyzed nationally representative data from 23 countries/territories (N=207,919) and evaluated if baseline purpose and meaning predicted 56 health and well-being outcomes, approximately one year later.Results: After adjusting for demographic and childhood factors, meta-analyzed results showed that higher purpose and meaning was prospectively associated with positive outcomes across 52 (out of 56) psychological, social, health, behavioral, and economic outcomes. Beyond these pooled effects, post-hoc analyses suggested that the magnitude of these benefits was not universal across countries/territories, but amplified by societal resources (i.e., health, education, and economics).Conclusions: Purpose and meaning are robust predictors of health and well-being outcomes across diverse contexts. However, investing in human development may amplify the benefits of purpose and meaning by helping convert these psychological assets into broader health and well-being gains.