Costa Rica: Positive attitude

The hope of a better future makes young Costa Ricans the most optimistic in the region, according to the first Iberoamerican Youth Survey, conducted by the United Nations Program for Development, published last July.

Costa Rica came second among 20 countries in the Americas, along with the Dominican Republica, Spain and Portugal.

Nicaragua was the second in the region and third in overall, while Guatemala ranked last in Central America.

Young Ecuadorians were the most positive of all the countries studied, while least Portuguese youth had the lowest level of hope for the future.

The study conducted more than 20 thousand telephone interviews between January and March of this year, among people between 15 and 29 years of age, with respect to issues such as security, health, education, jobs, family and the environmen (numbers reflect the position of each Central American country in the overall ranking). 

1. Costa Rica (2)
2. Nicaragua (3)
3. Panama (6)
4. El Salvador (10)
5. Honduras (13)
6. Guatemala (19)