Pura vida...Costa Rica?

July 9, 9:15 AMFamilies Living Abroad ExaminerLucy Culpepper

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Happy Iguana at the Zoo Ave, La Garita, Costa Rica

Costa Rica has the #1 spot on the Happy Planet Index (HPI) published July 4th. Is it just the 'pura vida' attitude of the Ticos and Ticas or is there more to it?

With the highest levels of reported life satisfaction, and the highest happy life years – Costa Rica stands out in the HPI even before considering its ecological footprint. It has the fifth-lowest human poverty index in the developing world, and the proportion of people living on less than $2-a-day is lower than in Romania – an EU member.

What makes these results even more remarkable is that it achieves this with a quarter of the carbon footprint of the USA.

This is not a matter of chance. Costa Rica, a haven of democracy and peace in sometimes turbulent Central America, has taken deliberate 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. In 1997, a carbon tax was introduced on emissions – with the funds gained being used to pay indigenous communities to protect their surrounding forests. Deforestation has been reversed, and forests cover twice as much land as 20 years ago. In 2007, the Costa Rican Government declared that it intended to become carbon neutral by 2021. As a result of these huge steps, Costa Rica has risen up the ranks of Yale University’s Environmental Performance Indicator, from 15th in the world in 2006 to 5th in 2008, the highest position outside Europe.

Professor Mariano Rojas, a Costa Rican economist at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Mexico, adds a few further explanations for his country’s performance:

• The abolition of the country’s army in 1949, freeing up government money to spend on social programs.
• Solid social networks of friends, families and neighborhoods, allowing a sensible work-life balance.
• Rich natural capital.
• Equal treatment of women.
• Strong political participation.

But Costa Rica is not heaven. Almost 10 per cent of the population lives on under $2- a-day. Clean water and adult literacy are almost universal, but not quite. And, whilst its carbon footprint is one of the lowest on the world, it is still eight per cent above the one-planet living threshold.

Extract from The (Un) Happy Planet Index 2.0

Does this all make Costa Rica a good choice for expat families? Later this week and next read about my experiences there, schools and much more.

For more information about Families Living Abroad, Living in France, Living in Spain, Living in Costa Rica, Living in Panama and Living in the UK please email lucy@culpepperink.com or visit www.culpepperink.com