Despite the high murder rate, high unemployment and high cost of living Jamaica is voted the third happiest country on earth behind Dominica Republic and Costa Rica. A research by the Happy Planet Index (HPI) listed Jamaica as number 3 out of  143 nations. Jamaica life expectancy is said to be 72.2 years. Many of us already know that Jamaica is a very happy country despite its problems. In Jamaica the real motto is ‘No Problem Man.’ This means we do not make stuff bother us for long. We are not going to commit suicide because we miss a payment or for any other reasons. We believe that things will work itself out.

Many Non-Jamaicans come to Jamaica yearly to rejuvenate or just chill out. We attract over 2 million tourists yearly and many of them are not rich people on vacation. Some of them hardly can afford the trip but they do it to get the feeling off freedom.  Freedom from the daily burden that rule their lives. There are much more to life than to worry about when your bills are due, how fat you are, what your next door neighbor is thinking and so on…

It is interesting to know that of the top 10 countries voted the happiest on earth, 7 of them are small South American countries. None of the super rich countries fall into the top 10. Why? Because money, riches and happiness are not synonymous. One can be rich and not happy. Happiness is a state of mind. If you go to any inner city ghettos you will find some of the happiest people. In the meantime you could comb some wealthy suburbs and find people beating their heads against their beds at nights unable to sleep. Please understand, that I am not saying that poor people are happier and money is not good. That is far from the truth. If you already a happy person having more money could be used to enhance or add to your overall happiness. If you are an old miserable soul, more money could cause more misery and even contribute to you making other people’s lives a living hell.

Back to the countries; A happy country is a country which allow all its citizens to enjoy its benefits. Countries like Jamaica allow its people to experiment with different lifestyles. It allows the artistic and creative energy to flow. That’s why we produce reggae music, good athletes and extraordinary talent in almost every profession. We hope things remain the same. Read More on Happy Index