Costa Rica, Happiest Country in the Americas

Costa Rica is the happiest country in all of the American continent, according to the latest World Happiness Index.

Costa Rica ranked 12th in the overall index, cracking the top 20 for the first time in more than a decade and surpassing not only the rest of Latin America, but Canada and the US too.

World Happiness Index 2024

1. Finland🇫🇮
2. Denmark🇩🇰
3. Iceland🇮🇸
4. Sweden🇸🇪
5. Israel🇮🇱
6. Netherlands🇳🇱
7. Norway🇳🇴
8. Luxembourg🇱🇺
9. Switzerland🇨🇭
10. Australia🇦🇺
13. Kuwait🇰🇼
15. Canada🇨🇦
17. Ireland🇮🇪
20. UK🇬🇧
23. US🇺🇸
24. Germany🇩🇪
25. Mexico🇲🇽
27. France🇫🇷
28. Saudi… pic.twitter.com/0rOm5YT4xM

— Informal Economy (@EconomyInformal) March 27, 2024

Despite being the world’s top superpower and its largest economy, the US fell from rank 16th to 23rd this year, mainly due to a steep decline in happiness among its youth.

No other Latin American country cracked the top 20. Mexico ranked 25th, Uruguay 26th, El Salvador 33rd, Chile 38th and Panama 39th.

Interestingly, the majority of countries ranked in the top 20 have populations of under 30 million. Canada and the United Kingdom are the only exceptions.

The top 10 was dominated by European countries, with Israel and Australia as the only outliers.

Also, happiness seems to be age-dependent in some regions. In the US and Canada, for example, older folks tend to be much happier than younger people. The opposite trend can be seen in some countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Happiness Index is a collaborative effort between Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

The Index considers six key factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, strong social support networks, freedom of choice, generosity and low levels of corruption.