Happy Planet Index

The 2016 Happy Planet Index (HPI), released by the New Economic Foundation in London, measures how well nations are doing at achieving long, happy, and sustainable lives.   Using ecological footprint as one of its measures, HPI highlights that it's possible to achieve high life expectancy & wellbeing without consuming too much resources from the Earth.

As a result, countries with high GDP that consume too much energy and have high ecological footprint might rank lower than countries with lower GDP and smaller ecological footprint.  For 2016, Costa Rica ranks first with the highest HPI.   Then, Mexico, Colombia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam round out the top five.

The visualization shows the country rankings throughout the world according to 2016 HPI.  Costa Rita ranks first, followed by Mexico, Columbia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.  The ‘HPI Rank Changed (2012 vs. 2016)‘ section is a quadrant analysis that compares the HPI country ranking changes between 2012 and 2016.  Syria is the biggest decliner whereas Uruguay, biggest improver.