WORLD´S HAPPIEST COUNTRY NOW IS COSTA RICA!

Couldn't be happier: Costa Ricans swing to PSY's horse-riding shuffle.

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. 

Instead, Costa Ricans are now the merriest in a list of 151 countries.

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.

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)

Saddest countries on the planet:

132. Benin (31.1)

133. Tanzania (30.7)

134. Democratic Republic of the Congo (30.5)

134. Burundi (30.5)

136. Trinidad and Tobago (30.3)

137. Guinea (30.0)

138. Luxembourg (29.0)

139. Sierra Leone (28.8)

140. Macedonia (28.3)

141. Togo (28.2)

141. South Africa (28.2)

143. Kuwait (27.1)

144. Niger (26.8)

144. Mongolia (26.8)

146. Bahrain (26.6)

147. Mali (26.0)

148. Central African Republic (25.3)

149. Qatar (25.2)

150. Chad (24.7)

151. Botswana (22.6)

Source: Happy Planet Index, New Economics Foundation