Costa Rica ranks top place again with the Happy Planet Index, #1 of 151.
The new Happy Planet Index (HPI) looked at 151 countries across the globe and analyze and scored them on a variety of metrics to measure life length, happiness and how sustainable lives are for the people that live in them. All in all, it boils down to each country’s efficiency at producing long and happy lives per unit of environmental output.
For those who are not yet familiar with the new ranking system, HPI was developed in response to global over-emphasis on indicators that only tell bits and pieces of what is really happening inside nations. “By only using indicators like GDP to measure success we are not accounting for what really matters, producing happy lives people now and in the future,” says the organization.
Don’t be mistaken; happiness is serious business. Since the HPI was first published in 2006, the results have gone viral. Even TEDGlobal featured Nic Marks in a presentation about the index.
Therefore, since the HPI is such a big deal, it’s worth taking a look at how our country of pura vida compares.
Costa Rica ranks #1 overall achieving a Happy Planet Index Score of 64.0
Costa Rica’s HPI score reflects high life expectancy, high levels of experienced well-being, and a moderate ecological footprint when compared to the other 151 countries that were analyzed.
Other Fast Facts for Costa Rica
| GDP per capita ($PPP): | 11,569 (around a quarter of the USA’s) |
| Population: | 4.7 million (#113 of 151) |
| Land area (square km): | 51.1 thousand (#117 of 151) |
| Population density (people per square km): | 91.2 (#63 of 151) |
| Governance Ranking (WGI): | #40 |
Costa Rica Ranks #13 for Experienced Well-being
Score: 7.3 out of a possible 10
This is below Denmark, the country with the highest level of experienced well-being, but higher than that of the USA, which has an average score of 7.16.
Costa Rica Ranks #28 for Life Expectancy
Score: 79.3
This is below Japan, the country with highest life expectancy (83.4), but higher than the USA, which has a life expectancy of 78.5
Costa Rica Ranks #77 for Ecological Footprint
Score: 2.52 global hectares per capita.
If everyone had the same Ecological Footprint as the average citizen of Costa Rica the world’s Ecological Footprint would be 5% lower
So smile and be happy Costa Ricans. Our country’s a great place to live!