Costa Rica: the hemisphere's "greenest"

Costa Rica not only has the best environmental performance of any country in the western hemisphere, but is also is fifth in the world, according to the latest Environmental Performance Index, published by Yale University.

In rest of Central America, Nicaragua is in second position, and35th overall, while. Guatemala is last in the region and 76th in the global ranking.

Switzerland is greenest of all, while Iraq is the worst polluter.

The study, which covers 132 countries, measures issues such as climate adaptation, recycling, and land quality, ,as well as exposure to toxic chemicals (figures in parentheses refer to the global position of each Central American country).
 

1. Costa Rica (5)
2. Nicaragua (35)
3. Panama (39)
4. Honduras (71)
5. El Salvador (75)
6. Guatemala (76)