Costa Rica hits happiness high

Costa Rica’s average life‑evaluation in the World Happiness data sits at 7.439 on the 0–10 ladder, according to the WHR dataset used in the 2026 edition. (data.worldhappiness.report) The World Happiness Report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the UN SDSN, with editors John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan‑Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin and Shun Wang credited on the 2026 volume. (worldhappiness.report) The report decomposes national scores into six explanatory factors—log GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, perceived freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption—when assessing why countries score as they do. (files.worldhappiness.report) Costa Rica’s rise has been rapid over a short span: it was ranked 23rd in the 2023 WHR and climbed into the top ten in 2025, reflecting a sustained multi‑year improvement in measured life evaluations. (ticotimes.net) Official tourism data from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo show 308,873 air arrivals in February 2026 and a combined total of 602,960 international air visitors in January–February 2026. (thecostaricanews.com) The colón’s recent strength—about a 12% appreciation against the U.S. dollar year‑on‑year, with the dollar trading around ₡487.26 on Monex in January 2026—has been linked by analysts to heavy tourism inflows, falling global oil prices and post‑election market calm. (ticotimes.net) February market breakdowns show notable source‑market shifts: arrivals from the United States rose about 11.7% while Canadian arrivals jumped roughly 32% year‑over‑year in February 2026, according to ICT‑reported figures. (revistaeyn.com)