Island tops ‘Happy Planet’ listing

THE tiny Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has topped a new index that measures quality of life against environmental impact, with industrial countries, perhaps unsurprisingly, faring badly.

The Happy Planet index by Britain’s New Economics Foundation rates nations by comparing their consumption of resources, life expectancy and happiness.

The top 10 is dominated by Central American states, while Britain comes 108th, the United States 150th and Zimbabwe last out of the 178 countries compared.