Study was revealed by The New Econimics Foundation (NEF)

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After being released the third edition of the Happy Planet Index conducted by The New Economics Foundation (NEF), Guatemala was ranked among the top ten happiest countries in the world, a ranking which classifies every two years the level of happiness in the countries. Costa Rica ranked first for the second consecutive time in the global list, followed by Vietnam and Colombia, surpassing happiness to the United States, China and Spain.

El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guatemala, among the top ten of the 151 countries analyzed. Meanwhile, Argentina is ranked No. 17, Chile is 19, Mexico 21 and Brazil 22.

The Happy Planet Index study measures three factors: the welfare of a nation’s residents say they have, life expectancy and ecological footprint of a nation.

Saamah Abdallah, analyst at the Center for Welfare of NEF, said that Latin America is often ahead of Europe on environmental issues. He said that Colombia and Costa Rica are good examples for autonomy energy level.

“In Latin America there is still poverty and economic inequality, but there are other factors that rarely figure in the economic indicators: social capital, the value of human ties and community initiatives,” he added.

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Source: http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20120615/pais/213706/?tpl=67131