Vacation Rates

Disneyworld brags it is the “happiest place on earth” but the most satisfying place to live in the world is officially tiny Costa Rica, winner of the Happy Planet Index.

The Index measures three factors in 143 countries, encompassing 99 percent of the population on the planet: high life expectancy, high life satisfaction, and a low ecological footprint. Costa Rica came out on top by a large margin.

The Index asked three questions:1. What is a country’s life expectancy ( premise: it is better to live longer than die young)? 2. How satisfied are a country’s people with the quality of their life (premise: living longer but miserably is not very satisfying)? and 3. What is the cost to the planet (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.