If you were asked to pick the place with the highest satisfaction of life and happiness, where would you choose? Hint: Disneyworld which claims to be the “happiest place on earth” did not make the finals (or the list for that matter). It is officially tropical Costa Rica, winner of the Happy Planet Index as the most satisfying place to live on the planet.

143 countries were rated, covering 99 per cent of the world’s population, for three things: high life expectancy, high life satisfaction, and a low ecological footprint. Costa Rica was clearly the winner—and by a lot.

Essentially, the Index asked: 1. Where are the places with the world’s longest life expectancy ( premise: it is better to live longer than die young)? 2. During one’s lifetime, where are people most satisfied with the quality of their life (premise: living longer but miserably is not very satisfying)? 3. What is the cost to the world’s resources (premise: sustainable development is better than exhausting resources)?

Like me, you probably assume that the most developed nations will come in towards the top but that is not the case. Despite its wealth and power, the United States occupies number 114. England does better but still only ranks 74th.

The difference between Costa Rica and the USA is striking. Costa Ricans live longer than Americans (health care is nationalized, nearly free, and universal in Costa Rica), report much higher levels of life satisfaction (they are very happy with their life), and yet have a carbon footprint which is less than a quarter the size of the States.

It is no accident that Costa Rica is at the top of the rankings The country is committed to sustainable development. While the Western world, China and India are committed to relying upon nonrenewable, nonsustainable resources (think oil) that are exhausting the planet’s resources and contributing to serious global pollution and warming, 99% of Costa Rica’s energy is completely renewable and sustainable. As developed countries dither about how to address power needs and meet the challenges of pollution and global warming, tiny Costa Rica has taken action. More than two decades ago, at a time when so many other countries were cutting and burning their forests, Costa Rica decided to go the opposite direction and now there are 20% more forested areas. Presciently, it has long denied oil drilling off its shores, choosing sustainability over exhaustion. And, in 2007 it became the first country to commit to being completely carbon neutral by 2021.

Costa Rica’s per capita income is only a fraction of that of the United States and other western countries but its ranking at number 1 in all the world is a model to emulate.

About this writer: Victor Krumm writes from sunny Escazu. Visit his beautiful website about Costa Rica Vacationsand be sure to check out Retiring in Costa Rica.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 5:12 pm and is filed under surfing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.