9 of the world’s 10 happiest nations are in Latin America
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Residents of Latin American and Caribbean nations constitute some of the happiest on the planet, according to a recent study.
A British research group, the New Economics Foundation, found that Costa Rica in Central America is the ‘happiest and greenest’ in the world.
The group’s Happy Planet Index, which is based on data from 143 countries around the world, reports that:
‘Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world, have the second-highest average life expectancy of the New World (second only to Canada) and have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of ‘one-planet living’: consuming its fair share of the Earth’s natural resources.’
The report from the organization says that Costa Rica has taken steps to reduce its environmental impact.
‘Unique in the world for having combined its ministries of energy and the environment back in the 1970s, a staggering 99 per cent of its energy comes from renewable sources.’
The only country outside Latin America and the Caribbean to make the list of 10 happiest nations is Vietnam.