Want to live in one of the greenest, happiest places on Earth? Then you may want to consider moving to Costa Rica! Once again, Costa Rica tops the list as the world’s happiest country, according to results from The Happy Planet Index (HPI). While most measures of national progress focus primarily on economic growth, the HPI analyzes what matters most: the sustainable well-being of an intrinsically happy population. And year after year, this tiny Central American nation outranks dozens of more industrialized countries in terms of environmental impact, life expectancy and levels of well-being.
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Costa Rica scores #1 out of 151 countries
With a population of just 4.7 million people, Costa Rica achieved 64 points (out of a total of 100) on the HPI index, which factors in ecological footprint, life expectancy and experienced well-being. For many across the globe, the HPI serves as an accurate gauge of how well a country is doing in terms of producing healthy, happy people both now and into the future.
Costa Rica has high level of well-being
Falling just behind Denmark, Costa Rica scored 7.3 out of 10 for experienced well-being, which draws on responses to a Gallup World Poll that sampled 1,000 individuals aged 15 or older in all of the 151 countries included in this year’s HPI. Costa Rica was trailed by Thailand, Ecuador and the Philippines in this important indicator.
Small ecological footprint
The ecological footprint (amount of land necessary to sustain a country’s normal consumption) of Costa Rica is 2.52 global hectares per capita. If others had the same environmental impact as the average person in Costa Rica, the globe’s eco footprint would be 5 percent lower.
Costa Rica’s average life expectancy is 79.3
The nation with highest life expectancy is Japan (83.4 years), but Costa Rica still ranked higher than the United States, whose residents have a life expectancy of 78.5. Data was gleaned from the 2011 UNDP Human Development Report.
Enjoying the “pura vida” that is Costa Rica
Surveys and polls aside, Costa Rica’s palpable happiness may be attributed to a number of basic factors. A lot of residents enjoy a simple life that is tune with nature. Heavy emphasis isn’t placed on material possessions, and locals truly embrace the pura vida, or pure life that values family, friendship and life’s small but meaningful pleasures.
Facebook Teaser: Costa Rica again ranks #1 on the Happy Planet Index (HPI), which has drawn worldwide attention as an important barometer of a country’s sustainable well-being. Find out why this small nation is one of the greenest and happiest on Earth!
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