A few years ago, Costa Rica stood out as the happiest country in the world in the World Happiness Report.
But this year another study ranked the country in the 12th position, below countries like Israel, Holland, Switzerland and Norway.
Roberto Pineda, a sociologist at the National University (UNA), explained that indicators such as crime, transportation, education, health, infrastructure and corruption are taken into account to elaborate these rankings.
Organized crime has risen in the country, infrastructure has still a long way to go, and people are definitely not happy if they have to spend two hours stuck in traffic in the morning and two more hours at the end of the day.
In a survey conducted by CRHoy.com in San José, most people consulted agreed that insecurity, bad education, poverty and corruption have influenced Costa Ricans to feel unhappy.
Although happiness is very subjective and depends on each person, to reach a degree of social and personal satisfaction, Costa Ricans have to work together to improve their quality of life.