How happy is Finland really?
Nordic nation tops global happiness survey for seventh year in a row with 'focus on contentment over joy'
![Aerial view to Ullanlinna district on the shore of Helsinki in summer](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Dcvs8eUL5E4tJH8vWsxywL-415-80.jpg)
For the seventh year in a row, Finland has been declared the happiest country in the world.
The Nordic nation and new Nato member topped the ranking of 143 countries and territories in the annual World Happiness Report, released to coincide with the International Day of Happiness (20 March). The UN-sponsored survey, now a publication of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, asks citizens to evaluate their life and considers factors like GDP, generosity, life expectancy, freedom and trust.
Many Western countries have dropped down the index – in fact, the US has dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since the survey began more than a decade ago. So how did Finland – which infamously had the highest suicide rate in the world in 1990, and now faces the rumbling threat of Putin's Russia on its doorstep – buck the trend?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
"Finnish society is permeated by a sense of trust, freedom and high level of autonomy," Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki, told DW. The healthy work-life balance, low corruption and a close connection to nature also contributed to the high level of self-reported satisfaction, but there are cultural perceptions at play too.
Finns have a "more attainable understanding of what a successful life is", said De Paola, compared with places where success is measured in wealth.
Finns "enjoy simple pleasures", said VisitFinland – like "clean air, pure water and walking around in the woods". Finland is one of only seven countries whose air quality met World Health Organization standards, according to the most recent IQAir report. And nearly 90% of Finns believe that nature is important in their lives, according to a 2021 survey.
The accessibility of nature "surely plays a part", said Lucy Pearson in The Guardian, with 41 free-to-enter national parks, 647 rivers, nearly 700 miles of shoreline – and "tens of thousands of islands".
But Finns also enjoy more tangible benefits from their strong welfare state, with publicly funded healthcare, free education, smooth-running public services and low levels of crime.
"Research shows that the higher the levels of trust within a country, the happier its citizens are," said Finnish philosopher and psychology researcher Frank Martela on CNBC. "Finnish people tend to trust each other and value honesty." An experiment by Reader's Digest in 2022 tested global honesty by dropping 12 wallets in 16 cities around the world. Helsinki came out top, with 11 of the 12 wallets being returned to the owner.
Finland also boasts one of the lowest levels of income inequality, wrote University of Oxford professor Danny Dorling on The Conversation. In 2023, the highest-paid tenth of Finland's population took home a third of all income (33%) – compared with 36% in the UK, and 46% in the US.
"These differences may not appear great, but they have a huge effect on overall happiness," wrote Dorling, "because so much less is left for the rest in the more unequal countries – and the rich become more fearful."
It's possible the World Happiness Report is "beginning to introduce its own bias", added Dorling. Finns "know why they are being asked the question".
They also say the ranking "points to a more complex reality", said The New York Times. Rather than "happy", Finns were more likely to characterise themselves as "quite gloomy", "a little moody" or "not given to unnecessary smiling" rather than "happy". Many "shared concerns about threats to their way of life", including the rise of the far right, the war in Ukraine and the threat posed by Russia.
The picture is even more complex for minorities. In a population that is more than 90% white, a Black gay man in Finland often feels "that you are the only person in the room", Jani Toivola, the first Black member of Finland's parliament, told the NYT.
What next?
For the fifth year in a row, the UK has slipped down the global happiness rankings, finding itself now at 20th. More concerningly, Brits under 30 ranked 32nd in the happiness rankings, behind El Salvador (a brutal dictatorship).
So what can the UK's youth learn from their Finnish counterparts? Finns "focus on contentment over joy", said Pearson. Lower expectations leave less room for disappointment, meaning that contentment is (more often than not) "well within reach".
"There is a Finnish proverb that seems relevant here," said Dorling: onnellisuus on se paikka puuttuvaisuuden ja yltäkylläisyyden välillä – "happiness is a place between too little and too much".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Escape seaside in Newport, Rhode Island
The Week Recommends For the quintessential New England experience, head to the Classic Coast
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The US is at risk for dengue fever
The explainer The buzz surrounding the mosquito-borne illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
India's toxic alcohol problem
Under the Radar Bootleggers add lethal methanol to illegal liquor to cheaply increase potency, leading to widespread casualties
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Engineered stone is bad for the lungs
Under the Radar Quartz comes at a cost
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Retinol: why holy grail of skincare faces ban
The Explainer EU set to limit concentration of over-the-counter products amid fears of vitamin A overdose
By The Week UK Published
-
Why more children are being diagnosed with ADHD
The Explainer The condition is increasingly common, but not for the reasons you might think
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published