World’s Greenest, Happiest Country? Costa Rica, According to Study

This is a strong endorsement for living in Costa Rica. According to a study released by the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica is the world’s happiest, greenest country. The country’s small carbon footprint combines with Tico’s reporting the highest “life satisfaction” in the world and the New World’s second-highest life expectancy, behind only Canada. According to the study, Latin America lends itself to good living: nine of the top ten countries are in Latin America.

The casual observer might find these results counterintuitive. After all, Latin America has been plagued with civil conflicts, poverty and natural disasters. However, the researchers offer a more nuanced look:

Latin Americans report being much less concerned with material issues than, for example, they are with their friends and family. Civil society is very active, from religious groups to workers’ groups to environmental groups.

Some have mocked the high levels of reported life satisfaction in Latin American countries as belying a lack of knowledge of anything better (i.e. Western lifestyles). On the contrary, Latin America is perhaps more exposed to North American culture than anywhere else in the developing world. Yet somehow it has been more resistant to idolising this lifestyle, or at least more able to be happy with its own way of life despite this influence.

Pura vida is a popular expression in Costa Rica which is used somewhat like the English term ‘cool’. It translates literally as ‘pure life’ and represents in itself an attitude to what is important.”

Pura vida indeed.

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