Half-way Happy

NZ ranks 94th out of 178 countries in the inaugural Happy Planet Index, produced by independent British “think-and-do tank” the New Economics Foundation. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) measures human well-being in relation to ecological efficiency, using the three values of life satisfaction, life expectancy and ecological footprint. NZ scored 7.4, 79.1 and 5.5 in each respective category, earning a total HPI rating of 41.9. The top five spots went to Vanuatu, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama, with NZ neighbour Western Samoa coming in at number 14. Britain placed 108th, Australia 139th and the US 150th.