What role does subjective well-being play as an indicator to describe the quality of life of individuals and societal wealth? After a brief introduction to the topic, the article discusses the relationship between subjective well-being and demographic events and processes, like fertility behaviour, international migration and ageing, from an international perspective. In addition to its importance as an indicator of wealth, subjective well-being supports evidence-based policies aimed at ensuring societal wealth. This requires the representative and differentiated collection and analysis of indicators on subjective well-being.