Costa Rica tops Happy Planet Index

High life expectancy and satisfaction make Costa Ricans a lucky bunch

Jaguars roam Costa Rica’s protected natural corridors, there are no army bases, and its people are the happiest in the world.

Residents of the Latin American nation – also home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity – enjoy the optimum balance of wellbeing, life satisfaction and low ecological impact, according to the New Economic Foundation’s Happy Planet Index (HPI).

The news comes as no surprise to Pilar Saborio, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to the UK: “Costa Rica steered from a mostly agricultural economy to a service and high-tech economy, whilst avoiding the creation of a heavy industry sector.”

Money saved by abolishing the army has gone towards health and education, and its free universal healthcare service predates the UK’s NHS by almost a decade. Costa Ricans have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the Americas – second only to Canada – and the highest life satisfaction score on the HPI.

Costa Rican law requires national development plans to factor in sustainability, which has encouraged successive governments to create a thriving tourism economy based partly on the country’s ecological assets. But even this exemplar state uses more than its share of resources, consuming a little more than genuine ‘one planet living’ would require.

It is a sobering comparison for the UK, which was ranked 74th out of 143 countries, despite boasting a per capita GDP nearly three times that of Costa Rica. While the ‘happiest’ nation generates over 90% of its electricity from renewables – its largest source is hydropower, supplemented by geothermal, biomass, solar and wind – the UK has pledged to generate just 15% from renewables by 2020.

According to Juliet Michaelson, co-author of the HPI report, regional planning authorities in the UK are beginning to use metrics that recognise wellbeing and the environment, such as the Measure of Domestic Progress. But it’s still a world away from Costa Rica.

A formula for happiness

– Gustavo Montes de Oca

Click here to see the report.

23 November 2009

Gustavo Montes de Oca