For the eighth consecutive year and without competition, Finland took first place in the Global Happiness Index. However, there are changes in the rest of the “Top 10,” including Costa Rica’s climb to sixth place.
The result combines the evaluation of life chances based on six key environmental factors:
Gross Domestic Product
Social Support
Health Services and Life Expectancy
Freedom to Make Decisions
Generosity
Perception of Corruption
From there, a score from 0 to 8 is obtained for 147 countries.
European nations (especially the Nordic ones) are the highest-ranked. Outside of that continent, Costa Rica and Mexico appear as representatives of Latin America, and Israel, of the Middle East.
Latin Americans: A World Apart
Dissecting the various elements of the Global Happiness Index, the researchers emphasize various aspects that vary by region. There, the case of Latin America stands out, where the perception of happiness as a more social issue surpasses that of the rest of the world.
This generates atypical behavior, as happier populations are identified there despite being worse off in socioeconomic indicators. “Latin American societies, characterized by larger households and strong family ties, offer valuable lessons for other societies seeking to enrich relational satisfaction and improve overall happiness metrics and research approaches,” they point out.
How has Costa Rica performed in the Global Happiness Index?
Returning to the topic of Costa Rica in the Global Happiness Index, it’s worth highlighting the changes it has seen over the last decade. The country has always been at the top of Latin America and is now achieving a broader climb.
Between 2016 and 2021, it fluctuated between 12th and 16th place. In 2022 and 2023, it dropped to the next ten, occupying positions 25th and 23rd, respectively. By 2024, it jumped back to 12th place and now stands at 6th.
