Posts tagged Average Life Expectancy
Costa Rica Ranked World’s Happiest Country
Nov 29th
Natural beauty makes for happy people
It’s no wonder Costa Rica ranks as one of the world’s happiest nations. With excellent health care and a high quality of life coupled with moderate cost of living, Costa Ricans live long, healthy lives in one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Whether scientists evaluate hard facts or solicit citizen opinion, Costa Rica consistently beats out wealthier countries for life satisfaction and comparative standard of living.
The World Database of Happiness considered Gallup and other surveys from 148 nations, and Costa Rica took the top spot for both Average Happiness and Happy Life Years. The first category took into account citizens’ own reports on their happiness: Costa Ricans ranked first with a score of 8.5 on a scale of 1-10; in comparison, the United States ranks 20th, reporting an average happiness of 7.4.
Fresh, affordable and abundant produce help keep Costa Ricans healthy
The second category took into account a nation’s reported happiness and average life expectancy, calculating how many happy life years its citizens lead. Again, Costa Rica ranked first with an average 66.7 happy life years; comparatively, the United States grabbed the 19th slot, averaging 57.9 happy life years.
Additionally, the Happy Planet Index (HPI) ranked nations on reported happiness and their environmental policies. The HPI begins with the basic premise that the world’s happiest people are the ones who are most content living with the smallest ecological impact – in other words, those who enjoy sustainable happiness. Again, Costa Rica slid into first place with its high life satisfaction, life expectancy, and strong environmental policies. In comparison, the United States, with a large ecological footprint, ranked 114 among the 143 nations studied.
Costa Rica is proud of its recent rankings, but the nation’s intangible achievements may be even more impressive than those already studied. An incredible 26% of its total landmass has been declared national park or private reserve, protecting 4% of the world’s total species – that’s 500,000 animal species! In addition to an abundance of flora and fauna, the country’s small area is home to a wide range of outdoor attractions, including volcanoes, cloud forests, beaches, rainforests, and rivers. Living in Costa Rica means diverse scenery, amazing wildlife, and year-round tropical weather – wouldn’t that make you happy?
All children are guaranteed the right to education
After abolishing its army in 1948, Costa Rica funneled funds into its public education and national health system, producing some of Latin America’s healthiest and best-educated individuals. Furthermore, the nation’s high level of education helped close the gender gap. According to the World Economic Forum gender gap index, Costa Rican women now enjoy more equality than their United States counterparts.
With so much in its favor, it’s easy to see why many call Costa Rica paradise. A lucky some call it home – will you be one of them?
Overview of Costa Rica for Travelers
Oct 4th
The Republic of Costa Rica is located in Central America and is an amazingly beautiful country. Following is an overview of the past and present of Costa Rica for travelers.
Overview of Costa Rica for Travelers
Christopher Columbus discovered Costa Rica and the indigenous people living there in 1502. The Spanish subsequently colonized it. The name of the country, Rich Coast, comes from their mistaken belief that gold was prevalent. It wasn’t, but the name stuck. In 1821, Costa Rica joined other Central American countries in declaring independence from Spain. True independence didn’t occur till 1838 when Costa Rica broke away from a federation of Central American countries.
In a major departure from many Central America countries, Costa Rica has largely been a free and peaceful democracy since 1899. It has a system of checks and balances similar to the United States, but more power is invested with the President and executive branch. The President and congressional members are elected to 4-year terms.
Costa Rica covers an area of 19,730 square miles. The capital is San Jose, which has a population of 2.1 million people. The terrain is rugged and tropical with dormant volcanoes, a rain forest in the south and immaculate beaches. Rainfall is heavy during summer months, but temperatures are consistently in the 70 to 90 degree range.
The people of Costa Rica are known both as “Ticos” and “Costa Ricans.” The total population is 4 million, but growing at 1.5 percent. Roman Catholic is the dominant religion, although 15 percent of the population claims Protestant as their faith. Literacy is at 96 percent. Average life expectancy for a woman is 79 years while men average 74 years. Spanish is the dominant language.
Costa Rica is both a hot tourist and relocation destination. The country is simply beautiful and the people are friendly. There has been a lot of construction and expansion over the last 15 years. Places like Tamarindo are no longer sleepy little coast towns. If you want to see the sleepy Costa Rica of old, now is the time to go before it is to late.
