Denmark ousted from top 100: World's new happiest country is ...
The new Happy Planet Index shuffled the list of the world's happiest countries after taking the planet into account
Denmark is no longer the happiest country in the world.
Actually, the Danes are far from being happy, according to a new global happiness measurement, the Happy Planet Index (HPI).
Instead, Costa Ricans are now the merriest in a list of 151 countries.
The index, compiled by the London-based New Economics Foundation (NEF), is different from the more well-known happiness index issued by the United Nations.
In addition to life expectancy and happiness, the HPI takes environmental sustainability into consideration.
“The Happy Planet Index measures what really matters -- long and happy lives now and the potential for good lives in the future,” said Nic Marks, creator of the index, in a press release.
“For too long we have relied on incomplete measures of progress that focus only on economic activity, such as GDP.”
Central America and Caribbean rule the chart
Costa Ricans are the happiest, live the longest and produce only one-third the ecological footprint of their U.S. counterparts.
Seven of the top 10 countries are in Central America or the Caribbean. The exceptions are Vietnam, which came in second, and Colombia and Venezuela, which ranked third and ninth respectively.
Surprisingly, typical happy frontrunner Denmark ranked 110th.
Despite scoring high in life expectancy and overall well-being, the Scandinavian country is also home to some of the biggest ecological footprint producers on the planet.
The U.K. settled at 41st, ahead of all other G8 nations. The U.S. came in 105th.
With poor performance in all three criteria, Botswana was named the saddest country in the world.
What do you think of the new index? Let us know in the comments section.
More on CNN: World's happiest countries: 1 to 187
Happiest countries on the planet (score):
1. Costa Rica (64.0)
2. Vietnam (60.4)
3. Colombia (59.8)
4. Belize (59.3)
5. El Salvador (58.9)
6. Jamaica (58.5)
7. Panama (57.8)
8. Nicaragua (57.1)
9. Venezuela (56.9)
9. Guatemala (56.9)
11. Bangladesh (56.3)
12. Cuba (56.2)
13. Honduras (56.0)
14. Indonesia (55.5)
15. Israel (55.2)
16. Pakistan (54.1)
16. Argentina (54.1)
16. Albania (54.1)
19. Chile (53.9)
20. Thailand (53.5)