There's no doubt that Disneyland is a very happy place, and no childhood will ever feel complete without meeting Mickey Mouse and the gang, not to mention enjoying rides across many theme parks.
However, if you're going to ask Movehub, the happiest place on earth isn't something that Walt Disney built. It's Costa Rica.
Using the data from Happy Place Index (HPI), a website known as Movehub, which considers itself as a premiere resource for anyone who wishes to move abroad, created a map that the shows the happiness level of each country.
The map features countries in different colors, with those leaning on green as the happiest and those toward the red as the unhappiest. Out of the 151 countries, meanwhile, Costa Rica emerged on top.
It's then followed by these countries (in chronological order):
- Vietnam
- Colombia
- Belize
- El Salvador
- Jamaica
- Panama
- Nicaragua
- Venezuela
- Guatemala
Interestingly countries that are believed to be first-rate and have good economy didn't make the cut to the top 10. The United States, for example, is 105 and UAE at 130. Canada is higher at 65 while United Kingdom is in the 41st place. Germany is 46 and China in 60. Switzerland is 34 and New Zealand 28.
If you're wondering why, it's because HPI doesn't put all of its weight on wealth. Rather, it emphasizes the measuring what matters more to a person's well-being. Thus, the index also includes life expectancy obtained from the 2011 human development report of United Nations, the level of well-being, and ecological footprint, which is related to the ability to sustain happiness.
This isn't the first time, however, that Costa Rica emerged as no.1 as far as being a great and happy country is concerned. One study participated by more than 35,000 students showed that it ranked first in three out of four factors, which included flourishing, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction. It ended up sixth in terms of social connection.