Eleven things about Finland the Happiest Country
yep finland has done it again and topped the list of the happiest countries for the fourth year in a row but what exactly adds up to the happiest place on earth outside of a disney theme park
sami is such a colorful language spoken by finland and we love the sayings the finnish use
we're looking at 11 reasons finland is the happiest country
Number One
number one firstly what kind of happy are we talking about how is all this happiness scored
finnish people aren't walking around chuckling like jovial santa claus all year round in fact a lot of people find them more on the stoic side
the world happiness report is sponsored by the un and conducted by polling company gallup the study interviews over 350 000 people from 95 countries using a 10 point scale to assess people's own happiness
they ask questions like did you learn or do something interesting yesterday and were you treated with respect yesterday
shun wang professor of the kdi school of public policy and management in south korea and one of the authors of the report explains this method we believe that these subjects or self perceived evaluations are a more reliable way to tell how good life is
they then take into account factors like life expectancy freedom to make life choices gdp generosity social support from friends and perceived corruption
Number Two
number two finland minds the gap the widening wage and equality gap is one of the leading reasons for unhappiness in many countries
finland has fought against this type of inequality since wananakiyamusi it has always been a priority for the country
one example is the baby box since 1938 every child born in finland has been set up with items their parents will need for their first few weeks and months of the baby's life
this is a cardboard box that doubles as a baby's first crib filled with everything from thermometers to baby grows even condoms and lube to help new parents get back on the pony
and if parents are already set up with what they need they can opt for 175 euro instead finland ensures that no matter how much money you have in the bank your basic quality of life needs are taken care of from the start
Number Three
number three home of the free the finnish seem to have an inherent understanding of freedom
it underpins their mindset that freedom and independence is only possible if everyone enjoys freedom and independence
so they allow people to get on with their lives without a ton of interference it seems so simple and i guess it actually is ironically freedom is complicated by so many governments the finnish understanding drives all policy making in the country
and leads to this happy nation if you think you can guess who gets the unhappiest country title well stick around to see if you're right
Number Four
number four housing first finland has a non traditional approach to a traditional problem homelessness they're successful at keeping homelessness down with their novel housing first principle this means that anyone who finds themselves homeless is given the right support
after that they're assisted in owning their own home and this is a proven good solution because homelessness is on a steady decline in this happy place
Number Five
number five they trust the police in a 2018 study results showed that 80 percent of finnish people trust the police
this sense of trusting the keepers of the peace leads to a higher sense of security
Number Six
number six economy is positive money doesn't buy happiness but it does buy a lot of things that help although a small country finland is a world leader in technology ict paper and pulp industries nokia polar suntow and kone are all some names you'll recognize
then there's a rovio the people who brought us angry birds and supercell the creators of clash of the clans now as the finnish say let's take a donkey's bridge over to the next point
Number Seven
number seven they promote the flat working model within these successful finnish companies
you won't find the usual corporate structures you might be used to finland employs a flat working model in their business operations
this includes few or no hierarchical levels between management and staff as a result there's less supervision and this promotes more involvement and decision making open communication between teams and departments and faster workflow probably because everyone's got their cow in the ditch
Number Eight
number eight gender equality means happiness all around finland addresses gender equality head on for many years they've been committed to closing the gender pay gap and access to high quality education across the gender landscape
this doesn't only reflect in rights for women but also for men finland is the only country in the world where fathers spend more time with school aged children than mothers
this is because maternity and paternity leave are treated equally so parenting is more culturally shared from the start
Number Nine
number Nine forget the joneses the finnish won't have black socks about what someone else owns they aren't suckered into the culture of comparing wealth
and a need to keep up with the joneses they have a more egalitarian culture anti copenin a philosophy professor at the university of helsinki explains that people often do pretty well in social comparison this starts from education
everybody has access to good education income and wealth differences are relatively small
Number Ten
number Ten finnish have realistic expectations sure finland enjoys eurovision and playing the lottery as much as the next eu country
but they don't have all their happiness hung on the big time they have very down to earth expectations of their life and find happiness in where they are in life as if you need more proof than being happy with a cardboard box for a baby crib to show the levels on levels of humility
that this nation has and here's more if something does go surprisingly well finnish people have a naturally humble approach to handling the situation
they will generally keep their added happiness a secret or turn to a self deprecating joke instead of bragging about their success
Number Eleven
number eleven free education with no testing college debt and health care are two of the biggest points of unhappiness in the u.s finland has removed these hurdles for their people
the country offers free schooling and what's more astonishing is that they very rarely test children and their education system is ranked one of the best in the world university is also free
so not only does everyone get an equal footing getting through school but they're also able to start their careers with zero debt for most of us that's enough to smile about but not too soon because in finland a popular saying goes or happiness will always end in tears
this doesn't really scream optimism but in some ways it has a sensibleness to it we can all appreciate it means that great joy or happiness is bound to end in sorrow or good things won't last forever
that's a pretty somber thought but it also proposes that great sorrow won't last forever either and it's not untrue your mother probably said something similar when you were giddy with excitement jumping on the couch it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye sound familiar
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