Costa Rica

Delve into a travel book or surf the Internet and it will quickly become clear that Costa Rica has an abundance of wildlife, flora and fauna. But dig deeper and one can find something rather different to the usual destination details. Costa Rica, according to the UK think-tank the New Economics Foundation, has been voted the top country for ‘happiness’ three times in the last decade, in 2009, 2012 and 2016.

Initial thoughts spring to mind of smiling faces of Costa Rican women (known colloquially as ticas) and men (ticos). That will be welcome, but the research captures a broader view. It bases the findings, recorded in its Happy Planet Index, on four elements: how satisfied citizens feel with life overall (their ‘wellbeing’); ‘life expectancy’ (the country boasts a ‘blue zone’, one of only five in the world where residents thrive over the age of 100); ‘inequality of outcomes’ (a calculation based on the two previous categories); and ‘ecological footprint’ (the impact residents have on their environment).

One of the biggest factors influencing Costa Rica’s frequent leading position is its environmental protection. This includes almost all of its electricity coming from renewable sources, and the country being committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2021.

Other factors aiding a more positive environment include the greater expenditure the country has put towards education, health and pensions since abolishing its army in 1949. It now boasts a 97.8% literacy rate; and increased women’s education has been attributed to the declining birth rate. A culture of building social networks of friends, families and neighbourhoods has also been attributed to enhanced happiness and is strong within that ‘blue zone’.

It is noted that while wealthier countries may be seen as successful, they do not necessarily come out tops for happiness. The 2016 Index shows Mexico and Colombia in second and third places behind Costa Rica for happiness, while the UK was 34th and the US 108th.

It will be interesting to see if we detect happiness being noticeably different when visiting Costa Rica compared with other countries through which we have travelled. Of course, heading to the country with an awareness of this might influence our view, but it will give us an additional focus when learning more about the culture. For sure, seeing the immense amount of wildlife, plants and different scenery, particularly in the national parks and rainforests will make us happy, but it could be enlightening to find out if happiness reflects strongly amongst the population and for us to gain some insights about how to live well past 100 years!