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Which is the best country to live in for happiness?
We now know the best job in the world is working as a caretaker on Hamilton Island, in the Great Barrier Reef, but what’s the best country on the planet to live in?
Costa Rica, apparently, with the Central American country topping the second edition of the Happy Planet Index (HPI).
Costa Rica comes out on top as its long-lived citizens are extremely satisfied with their lot and also have a tiny carbon footprint.
Not surprisingly Zimbabwe is bottom of the HPI index, but the report makes grim reading for many developed countries, with the United States ranked 114th of the 143 nations surveyed.
The HPI has its critics in that the report does not take sufficient account of political freedom, but the concept has been taken up by David Cameron, leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative political party, while the European Commission has launched a programme “Beyond GDP” in pursuit of other ways of measuring progress.
How do you think happiness should be rated and which is the best country in the world to live in?
While you’re thinking about it, I’m off to Costa Rica.
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