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The secret to longevity is hidden in Costa RicaThe elderly of the Nicoya Peninsula in Southern Guanacaste, many of whom are in their 90s, are among the most long-lived people in the world. This phenomenon was measured for the first time in a 2004 demographic study, which found that those in their 90s in this region have a 10 percent lower mortality rate than the rest of the country.With an area of more than 2,500 square miles and a population of just 132,000, over 5,000 of its inhabitants are over the age of 75. The study also found that Costa Rican males have a longer life expectancy on average than their counterparts the world over. This means that a Costa Rican man who reaches his 80th birthday will, on average, live 8.2 years longer than if he resided in Japan, the U.S. or Iceland. If he reaches 90, he will, on average, outlive his counterparts in those countries by 4.4 years.The phenomenon of longevity drew the attention of writer Dan Buettner, founder of Bluezones.com. His mission is to identify what he terms “blue zones,” or areas of greater longevity around the globe; not only areas where people live longer, but also where they seem to enjoy better health than those who live in surrounding areas.He and his team, with the support of the National Geographic Society and Allianz Life, corroborated in 2007 the accuracy of the data in Costa Rica, but also identified a blue zone in the Nicoya Peninsula where the residents likewise live longer on average than those in the rest of the country. Other blue zones internationally include Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), and the valley of Loma Linda, California (USA).