Showing posts with label dominica happy planet caribbean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dominica happy planet caribbean. Show all posts

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Planet Index misplaces Caribbean islands (and is a less happy report because of it)

I'm not Happy. The recently released 'Happy Planet Index' report placed Costa Rica at the top. In previous years, Dominica also placed highly (In a previous report, 2006 I think, we were the 4th happiest place in the world).

So I eagerly downloaded and perused this year's report. Not one mention of Dominica. And in fact, not a mention of other small Caribbean islands. No Barbados, no Antigua, no Greneda. Not even a Caricom or regional grouping that I could find.

Now we're often overlooked because of our size, but we're still a nation state and a UN member (even if we don't always pay our fees on time). But to omit us (and our neighbours) somewhat misses the point. We satisfy all the criteria for a deliriously 'happy' nation (low ecological footprint, high life expectancy, cheap rum, etc.). It's precisely because we're a small nation that we're so Happy.

In fact, if the Dominican Republic is such a Happy country (#2nd place, no less), how come so many of their nationals migrate to Dominica (by whatever means necessary)?