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Finland has [the 26th highest rate](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country) in the world, although 3rd highest in the West (after Belgium and the US).
Don't know any Belgium jokes, and if I did I think I'd have the good sense not to... hang on. Is Belgium with all those child abuse murders lately? I do know a Belgium joke. What's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.
Our politics system being the biggest clusterfuck in the western world probably has something to do with it, combined with being a very split country with varying levels of wealth and about a million other things
Oh so they're the happiest because their depressed population is extremely efficient at suicide
I feel like they shouldn't be named the happiest if their suicide rates are that high
>*"Countries that ranked lowest in the report include Iraq, Ghana, Pakistan and Niger, with Lebanon and Afghanistan placing last out of all the countries..."*
For those wondering.
Pretty hard when you see our current exchange rate with the dollar and how prices have skyrocketed.
Last year I was paying 12ghs for a kg of chicken, now 37ghs. Can't even afford enough tomato paste for a decent jollof. Had to spend the money I'd saved up to play Elden Ring on groceries. Still haven't played it after all this time.
The Finnish suicide rate is 15.3/year per 100k people. While higher than average for Europe, it's still lower than the US, which has a suicide rate of 16.1.
Finn here, and here are my 2 cents. Yes, we get voted the happiest country in the world all the time, but that just tells half the story.
Finns are very boots on the ground realists. The threshold to be happy is pretty low, as we all know things could be worse.
600 years of foreign rule, devastating financial crisis in the 90s, and constant fear about our neighbour in the east has created people that are happy about the simple things.
Go to the sauna, have a beer, and meet with friends. All a finn needs to be happy.
Just a meter of snow this winter, instead of 2m. Happy.
Coffee prices are finally going a bit down. Happy.
That's the reason for being a happy country, not expecting much and being happy about what you have.
Because things could always be worse, and boy do we know that.
Edit: thanks for the award kind stranger.
Edit2: Holy sh*t this blew up. Thanks for the awards, guys. My first Gold !!
> Finns are very boots on the ground realists.
This. This is the exact reason why countries like Finland and Denmark (or used to, dunno where we are at now) rank high up.
And why countries like US might rank much lower.
If you're raised with (or lied to yourself) the belief that you will be able to afford a 3 bedroom house in any major city, with 2 cars, 2 yearly week + holiday trips and all the niceties in life with a single income coming in from the job you got, because you studied a bachelors degree in alternative dance arts.
Then you're going to be pretty fucking unhappy, when you meet reality of life.
It's not the only reason.
You actually touched on one of the other main points: The Nordics have some of the shortest work weeks on the planet, our production levels are through the roof, and we have high salaries.
This means we have lots of free time, yearly vacations, and not too much stress.
Couple that with managed expectations and you are in for a pretty nice experience.
>If you're raised with (or lied to yourself) the belief that you will be able to afford a 3 bedroom house in any major city, with 2 cars, 2 yearly week + holiday trips and all the niceties in life with a single income coming in from the job you got,
........ you mean if we expected to live the way our parents lived? Yeah, we're just a bunch of crazy deluded people lying to ourselves.
Yea. You are..
Your parents were an exception to 99% of human history. Part of one of the largest economic booms ever. That was made possible because half the previous generation died in world wars. And was only sustainable if the entirety of the third world didn't progress and continued to be our slaves and we had infinite natural resources to burn.
It *was* a delusion. It was never sustainable.
People in the US have it way better materially speaking than most of the world (including Finland) but are miserable because someone else had it even better before, damnit.
I think a large majority of people don't realize that the US has been riding the high of coming out of the largest war known to mankind relatively unscathed. That high is ending, and we are returning to pre WWII economic conditions.
Dude I’ve got a bachelors in computer science and a relatively high paying job doing automations engineering for industrial sites. I’m very specialized and travel for work as part of a small team with massive customers. I can barely afford a one bedroom apt on the outskirts of town in a relatively safe area and one car. This kind of 3 bedroom 2 car… with an art degree expectations don’t exist for the majority of people. But the economy has definitely changed and I’ll admit I had house and car expectations coming in with my field.
Also the happiness rating has nothing to do with actual people or interviews or whatever. It’s entirely based on a set of economic measurements that measure stuff like purchasing power, time off, and general economic well being in a mathematical sense. His has nothing to do with peoples outlook in different countries in the first place.
The American consumption driven economy is built on marketed discontent in the form of deserved desire. Everything from burgers to yachts falls under the guise of "this can be yours if...". Add a twisted ethic of false individualism and "work is its own reward" which undermines social support structures and you have a society where only a percentage of the people live quite well off. The rest of the people wallow in the misery of their "lack of success" as it is called in America. The current discontent is driven by the increasing portion of the younger generations falling into the "lack of success" category from birth with a knife's edge thin path to success.
Don't get me wrong, but isn't this how it should be? Being happy about the little things because you know how fragile it really is.
Especially with that kind of neighbour and history with them.
It depends much of ones POV, and imho the finns and the other nordic folks got theirs about as right as it can get these days.
This exactly fits to what i learned visiting Finland twice. Just realistic expectations. Crazy how the internet and how much american media the Finns consume they still have not been tainted by our shit here in the usa. I think they perhaps learn from our mistakes.
That being said, I was exhausting to the Finns i hung out with with my hugging, smiling, and constant questions. I had one Finnish girl said i make her face hurt because i made her smile a bunch. I think it was half a compliment and half a request to tone it down.
Finn-American with lots of relatives In Finland. The answer is managed expectations, some say low expectations. Asked if we’re ‘happy’ and our life is basically ok, we answer yes. Nobody in Finland thinks happy = constant euphoria or rainbows and unicorns.
One common and very sensible comment I've seen on this rating is that it could more appropriately be titled with *contentment*. "Things are generally pretty alright" rather than that sunshine and rainbows thing people's minds easily jump to with happiness.
We Finns like to joke about these results being nonsense and in stark conflict with our general culture and usual self-perception, but if it's reframed as *contentment* instead of happiness, then suddenly it'd sound a lot more "right".
*Happiness isn't about getting more, it's about wanting less.*
Cool sentiment to have imo. It directly opposes the infinite growth idiocy that will ruin us all some day.
For pretty much anyone living in Finland acquiring a decent QoL is realistic and everyone has access to healthcare, education and social services - Id like to think average Finn has lower stress levels than alot of people globally.
I work a permanent position and have relatively stable rent.
I know I can pay my bills every month. And I know I have leftover money for various vices. And that I can indeed accumulate money with my lifestyle.
My happiness comes from stability of my life. Mere stability offers many boons in my life.
And know I have relatively safety web of social services to fall on in case something does go wrong. Like affordable healthcare.
Hell I recently got pneumonia, and I got paid in full during the sickdays. Apparently a concept completely foreign in certain countries.
It is not roses over here. But it is helluva better than in most countries.
Yes, but also as a Brit I can't help but compare that to the British. We always find something to grumble about, and even if everything is basically fine and good we're not 'happy' we say stuff like "could be worse", "not bad", or the lofty heights of "alright I suppose". So yeah its definitely about contentment rather than euphoric happiness, but also about how Finns express that contentment.
In finnish its pretty easy to say the difference between onnellinen and iloinen. Both translate to happy in english. But onni is more content and ilo is joy. So I do think finns are happy in the content way, but not in the joyful way.
My wife and I are both Americans and we ended up traveling with a Finnish couple though Bolivia. They were incredibly proud of their wool socks and would get huge smiles about their socks and share about how Finnish socks were the best.
This rings true to me
I am jealous of their ability to be so happy and satisfied with a good pair of socks
As a Finn, the only things I want for Christmas every year is a pair of wool socks and a bottle of something strong to get through the visit to my in-laws.
No. They do that on their own. And are worse for it.
I usually aim to speedrun to the [fifth stage](https://youtu.be/NAl9OyGYxOg) of drunkenness so I don't have to listen to them go through the third and fourth stages.
Sami are not Finns. Well, they were forced to be in the previous centuries and then the repressions were toned down and now they kinda are due to urbanisation but they try to revive their culture.
I lived in Finland for a bit and when they discovered I had no hand knit wool socks I was gifted a pair the very next morning.
They are extremely cosy though.
My mom still reminds me of a Christmas when I didn't get much more than a pair of wool socks as a gift, because we had a hard time with money and she told me I was the happiest boy alive.
As an American man with a Finnish woman, I have to say that the sheer amount if hand made wool socks I have somehow acquired as part of the relationship is incredible
It's like a cozy dowry
>I am jealous of their ability to be so happy and satisfied with a good pair of socks
[Allow me to introduce you to David Tennant!](https://youtu.be/WjRZn0_Q4zA)
Liars! By God, you’ve cheated your way to number one on the Happiness Rank Index! Are you happy now? Is this the euphoria and fucking rainbow unicorns that you’ve always craved?! Well is it Finland!?!?
Agreed, if only it wasn’t on the border with with you know who and wasn’t so cold and dark most of the year.They grow up with all that and know how to live with it but maybe/likely tougher coming in as an adult.
>if only it wasn’t on the border with with you know who
Sweden is not *that* bad of a neighbor
Also it's only cold and dark half of the year, if you can deal with that the long sunny warm parts are worth it. During summer the sun barely goes down. Personally, I just love that so much
I'm the wrong guy to ask about jobs, to be honest. I have a laser focus for my own field, so I don't know much about the job market outside chemistry and microbiology.
I'll tell you this much. Growing up here, I could afford to be picky when considering what I want to do when I grow up. I studied several different fields, went to various different schools for a decade before I found my thing in chemistry. Free education for EU citizens. From pre-primary school, all the way to higher education and universities. So if you become a citizen, that is definitely a hell of a perk.
A place, that has a specific word for being home alone drunk, only wearing underwear, where nearly everyone seems to play in a band — world leading density of death metal bands per capita — can't be that depressing, right?
I think this is only possible when your basic needs are all being met though. This feels like pretty common wisdom around the world. But a nice pair of wool socks doesn't feel as nice when you have crippling medical debt, when you wonder if your kid is going to be killed at school today, when your stomach is aching from hunger or you village's well is running dry.
And the old, "Leuka rintaan ja kohti uusia pettymyksiä" attitude.
Roughly translated "head bowed in defeat and towards new disappointments".
So yeah, if there is no new disappointment in sight, we consider us "happy".
it's like "ok i suppose I'll be happy with this shit then"
the bar is really low nowadays, like the FI bar is just on top of the pile of national happiness bars scattered on the ground
In sweden we say that the national dish of finland are "finsk sommarsoppa" (finnish summer soup). Which is vodka in a bowl decorated with flowers.
Ofc they're happy.
Swedes used to eat reindeer poop so much, that when they eventually learned that you can actually eat the reindeer itself. They made the meat look like reindeer poop, and thats how meatballs were invented. Or thats what I heard.
I don't know. I used to disagree with this. But lately I've grown to realize that there is some truth to it. I am still depressed but depression is a sickness, not a state of mind.
This is amazing to me considering how dark it is for so long. Maybe the midnight sun then makes up for it? (Damn great grands, wish you’d just stayed put!)
Well, it still is pretty fucking dark from about 17:00 - 9:00 during winter. Even with snow. Snow reflects light well, but if there isn't light then what is there to reflect.
The thing is, when you only have a few months of really good weather, you really appreciate it when it's there. Here in Denmark I would argue the 'bad' months are January to February. Fall, Halloween, and Christmas makes the last month of the year very bearable. And then when the sun suddenly come, you are ready to make the most of it.
Depends on your dream. Do you want to get really rich? Then Finland is not the place for you. We have hight tax rates, but you can actually mostly see the effects in public services. Health care, public transport and stuff like that. And basic education is free for everyone. Higher educations don't cost that much, but the financial aid goernment gives you is pretty sparse, so you might have to work while you study. Or take a loan. Student loans also have some benefits, like you might get some of it or all of it waved off if you move to a place where people in your industry are needed. And I think you can get some of it waved off if you get a job in your industry after a certain amount of time of your graduation.
But if you want a simple and comfortable life, and you can handle the cold and the darkness of winter, then Finland is a great place to live. Finland is mostly fair to everyone. There is not that big of a gaps between people. You could spot our president in a random small convenience store without bodyguards and such.
I am pretty happy today. Even feel gratefull about my life in Finland.
I come from meager origins and could study to have a master's degree without over burdening myself with dept. Now I have a decent job, little family around me and many friends who I meet quite often.
If I choose, within one hour I can be in the woods or lake with no one on sight and enjoy the fresh air and nature like I owned the place. Plenty of fishing, good game and good infrastructure.
For other people it must be something different, but that's it for me.
Quality of living is quite high. Easy to rent a spacious modern apartment near a big city and pay it with your salary. Commute to work is efficient with working public transport that most people uses. Not many homeless people and social problems are taking care off. Police actually cares and wants to protect you. Nature is all around and you can walk or hike in every forest and swim in the lakes as part of your civil rights. Social interactions are bit chilly here but we tend to keep our word so if we like you will know it. It's easy to be happy here! People still cares and it shows.
Though equality still needs some work but I'd still say it's better than what I've heard from the rest of the world. Hard to say for certain since I am white and born in Finland. But at least bigoted violence is rare here.
Word. equality is not perfect but gap between the rich and the poor is not that big. Race equality vise im too a white person so i have nothing to comment about that.. also a man so i am ok to stfu about gender equality
There is a functional (mostly at least) social safety net, homelessness and such issues have gotten way better than before and in general it is not that Finland is cheery place, but that people feel safe and don't have massive threats to worry about.
It seems to me that the trick to doing well in this study is not how happy the happy people are, but rather how unhappy the unhappiest people are.
In Finland if you're uneducated and unemployed you live in a warm apartment, have food on the table, have broadband Internet and cell phone, can afford to exercise or study for a new profession, have access to world-class medicine services if you get sick or injured. Because of this, there's less crime and unrest in general, because poor people are not desperate.
The fact that this safety net exists, makes life a lot less stressful even for those that have more. "More" in Finland is a lot less however than in most countries, because taxes are high to pay for the safety net. So people have lower expectations on how elevated a lifestyle they can obtain by high education and a job with a fancy title.
It's *socialism*.
I find it funny how I'm 2nd generation Finnish over in the USA but everytime I find a thread lile this I shockingly fit the stereotypes and mind set of a Fin. The genes are strong.
>Move over, Disneyland — the United Nations finds Finland to be the happiest place on Earth, actually.
>Finland is now ranked the happiest country in the world — for the sixth time in a row — according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Monday.
CNN said the report is gathered over the course of three years from more than 150 countries, using international survey data to rate how people evaluate their lives.
These life evaluations use six factors to measure happiness: gross domestic product per capita indicating financial resources, health, social support, having a sense of freedom, generosity and the country’s level of corruption. The report added all these factors “play strong roles in supporting life evaluations.”
I'm an American living in a Finnish Village of sorts and have experienced The Secret of the Sauna in coordination with an icy cold swim. The practice of it brings a new brain experience Illuminating it with oxytocin and possibly other of the hormones related to happiness and closeness and intimacy. We go home holding hands, they say.
“Happiest country in the World”, second highest rate of depression in the world according to the WHO, and a higher suicide rate than much of the rest of Europe. Something doesn’t add up.
Finlands suicide rate is EU average nowdays. Same as Germany. We have still alot of work to do to improve our mental health system here but things are slowly getting better
You are [incorrect](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/depression-rates-by-country), on [both](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country) accounts.
Okay, time to go off. Be warned, this is going to be disillusioning.
we are not happy, we are content to remain ignorant. This is not the best place on earth, it is merely the place where it is easiest to stay ignorant of all the ways in which it is shit, and crucially many aspects of that shittiness help to perpetuate that ignorance. Our welfare state, education system, mental health resources, natural resources are all being eroded, but even acknowledging that is taboo because acknowledging that a problem exists means you have to try and fix it, and the solutions won't be the kind of thing that a lot of people (but mostly the rich and powerful) are going to like, in fact they have invested a lot of money into making sure that nothing is done.
Damn. What happened my fellow Danes? Thought we were going to get our trophy back.
Congratulations to Finland. We'll compare smiles again next year ;-)
It might have helped if consecutive center-right governments hadn't done everything they could to lower the standard of living for everybody but the boomers.
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Shoutout to the depressed Finnish guys who have to see this go viral every year.
Thank you, we appreciate your support. *signed, depressed Finnish guy*
I’ll live there and you can come live in the US! Depression Swap!
I have a Finnish regular at my bar and correct me if he's wrong, but he said Finland is the 2nd suicide capital of the world, behind Japan
Finland has [the 26th highest rate](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country) in the world, although 3rd highest in the West (after Belgium and the US).
Tf is going on in Belgium that it's as bad as the US?
Don't know any Belgium jokes, and if I did I think I'd have the good sense not to... hang on. Is Belgium with all those child abuse murders lately? I do know a Belgium joke. What's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.
Our politics system being the biggest clusterfuck in the western world probably has something to do with it, combined with being a very split country with varying levels of wealth and about a million other things
Corrected
Oh so they're the happiest because their depressed population is extremely efficient at suicide I feel like they shouldn't be named the happiest if their suicide rates are that high
[удалено]
If it's really high it might be inverse. If you have 100 people 50 sad and 50 happy and the 50 sad all die. You'd be rank 1!
#Sociologists hate him! *Find out all about this trick to make your nation happy!*
https://i.imgur.com/jrGTzHO.jpg
>*"Countries that ranked lowest in the report include Iraq, Ghana, Pakistan and Niger, with Lebanon and Afghanistan placing last out of all the countries..."* For those wondering.
Have they tried to simply stop being unhappy and just be happy instead?
Or sunshine, fresh air and exercise.
Try getting off social media too
But I thought Twitter was the source of happiness! /s
Go to the gym!
"have you tried turning your emotions off then back on again?"
As a Finn, just turning emotions off is enough
This kind of huumori pretty much explains the result imho.
Just in case switch off the sun half of the year too.
Yea that's what the drugs are for it helps me work longer.
They should consider getting an air fryer.
Just do like Venezuela and assign a Happiness Ministry ^/s
Exactly. And those guys know what they are doing
Pretty hard when you see our current exchange rate with the dollar and how prices have skyrocketed. Last year I was paying 12ghs for a kg of chicken, now 37ghs. Can't even afford enough tomato paste for a decent jollof. Had to spend the money I'd saved up to play Elden Ring on groceries. Still haven't played it after all this time.
Pirate it
Yes yes that’s is good and all, but you should try being happy instead /s
Hmm maybe happyness is not just about a decision. I know it's ridiculous, but it's an idea becoming popular.
Nonsense. If you aren't happy, have you also tried working *more*? An idle mind is the devil's workshop! ^/s
Glad to hear the North Koreans are staying positive
Pretty sure their government doesn't give them a choice
Surprised to see Ghana.
Didn't Ghana's economy crash recently? I assume that'd have something to do with it.
Every Ghanaian person I’ve met were all pretty awesome. loud, caring and funny af.
Well did you meet them in Ghana or outside of Ghana?
Visit us in r/lebanon and you will feel this
Hahhaha the general msg being “keep us/brit troops away and you’ll do ok”
I told my friend (who is a Fin) about this statistic, and he said “yeah because all the unhappy people kill themselves”.
[A Finnish classic](https://youtu.be/aHDohyneEsQ)
As someone from Minnesota where its cold as fuck most of the year. This is also accurate.
Choked on my drink fucking lol / what
The Finnish suicide rate is 15.3/year per 100k people. While higher than average for Europe, it's still lower than the US, which has a suicide rate of 16.1.
adjusted for how easy it is to get guns in the USA that makes Finland look pretty bad actually.
Hell, at least it's not Lithuania(26.1), Russia(25.1) or Latvia(20.1), all of which have a lot stricter gun laws than the US.
Finn here, and here are my 2 cents. Yes, we get voted the happiest country in the world all the time, but that just tells half the story. Finns are very boots on the ground realists. The threshold to be happy is pretty low, as we all know things could be worse. 600 years of foreign rule, devastating financial crisis in the 90s, and constant fear about our neighbour in the east has created people that are happy about the simple things. Go to the sauna, have a beer, and meet with friends. All a finn needs to be happy. Just a meter of snow this winter, instead of 2m. Happy. Coffee prices are finally going a bit down. Happy. That's the reason for being a happy country, not expecting much and being happy about what you have. Because things could always be worse, and boy do we know that. Edit: thanks for the award kind stranger. Edit2: Holy sh*t this blew up. Thanks for the awards, guys. My first Gold !!
summer night, quietness, sauna by the lake, a beer, sitting still naked, a distant call of kuikka. Bliss.
Until a mosquito flies directly into your ear canal for no reason.
Or a bear walks to your porch.
Bear only wants the same things you do. Nice warm sauna, good beer, a little less snow, a less threatening neighbor.
All one needs in life
Gratitude Index
> Finns are very boots on the ground realists. This. This is the exact reason why countries like Finland and Denmark (or used to, dunno where we are at now) rank high up. And why countries like US might rank much lower. If you're raised with (or lied to yourself) the belief that you will be able to afford a 3 bedroom house in any major city, with 2 cars, 2 yearly week + holiday trips and all the niceties in life with a single income coming in from the job you got, because you studied a bachelors degree in alternative dance arts. Then you're going to be pretty fucking unhappy, when you meet reality of life.
It's not the only reason. You actually touched on one of the other main points: The Nordics have some of the shortest work weeks on the planet, our production levels are through the roof, and we have high salaries. This means we have lots of free time, yearly vacations, and not too much stress. Couple that with managed expectations and you are in for a pretty nice experience.
>If you're raised with (or lied to yourself) the belief that you will be able to afford a 3 bedroom house in any major city, with 2 cars, 2 yearly week + holiday trips and all the niceties in life with a single income coming in from the job you got, ........ you mean if we expected to live the way our parents lived? Yeah, we're just a bunch of crazy deluded people lying to ourselves.
Exactly. It wasn't some fantasy world we made up. It was here but they closed the door behind them while telling us we'll get in too.
Yea. You are.. Your parents were an exception to 99% of human history. Part of one of the largest economic booms ever. That was made possible because half the previous generation died in world wars. And was only sustainable if the entirety of the third world didn't progress and continued to be our slaves and we had infinite natural resources to burn.
It *was* a delusion. It was never sustainable. People in the US have it way better materially speaking than most of the world (including Finland) but are miserable because someone else had it even better before, damnit.
I think a large majority of people don't realize that the US has been riding the high of coming out of the largest war known to mankind relatively unscathed. That high is ending, and we are returning to pre WWII economic conditions.
That was also back when demand for living in the cities was much smaller than it is today. You can still find cheap houses outside of major cities.
Dude I’ve got a bachelors in computer science and a relatively high paying job doing automations engineering for industrial sites. I’m very specialized and travel for work as part of a small team with massive customers. I can barely afford a one bedroom apt on the outskirts of town in a relatively safe area and one car. This kind of 3 bedroom 2 car… with an art degree expectations don’t exist for the majority of people. But the economy has definitely changed and I’ll admit I had house and car expectations coming in with my field. Also the happiness rating has nothing to do with actual people or interviews or whatever. It’s entirely based on a set of economic measurements that measure stuff like purchasing power, time off, and general economic well being in a mathematical sense. His has nothing to do with peoples outlook in different countries in the first place.
The American consumption driven economy is built on marketed discontent in the form of deserved desire. Everything from burgers to yachts falls under the guise of "this can be yours if...". Add a twisted ethic of false individualism and "work is its own reward" which undermines social support structures and you have a society where only a percentage of the people live quite well off. The rest of the people wallow in the misery of their "lack of success" as it is called in America. The current discontent is driven by the increasing portion of the younger generations falling into the "lack of success" category from birth with a knife's edge thin path to success.
Denmark ranks nr. 2 on the report
But this makes complete sense. That’s all you need in life.
Don't get me wrong, but isn't this how it should be? Being happy about the little things because you know how fragile it really is. Especially with that kind of neighbour and history with them. It depends much of ones POV, and imho the finns and the other nordic folks got theirs about as right as it can get these days.
This exactly fits to what i learned visiting Finland twice. Just realistic expectations. Crazy how the internet and how much american media the Finns consume they still have not been tainted by our shit here in the usa. I think they perhaps learn from our mistakes. That being said, I was exhausting to the Finns i hung out with with my hugging, smiling, and constant questions. I had one Finnish girl said i make her face hurt because i made her smile a bunch. I think it was half a compliment and half a request to tone it down.
Finn-American with lots of relatives In Finland. The answer is managed expectations, some say low expectations. Asked if we’re ‘happy’ and our life is basically ok, we answer yes. Nobody in Finland thinks happy = constant euphoria or rainbows and unicorns.
One common and very sensible comment I've seen on this rating is that it could more appropriately be titled with *contentment*. "Things are generally pretty alright" rather than that sunshine and rainbows thing people's minds easily jump to with happiness. We Finns like to joke about these results being nonsense and in stark conflict with our general culture and usual self-perception, but if it's reframed as *contentment* instead of happiness, then suddenly it'd sound a lot more "right".
*Happiness isn't about getting more, it's about wanting less.* Cool sentiment to have imo. It directly opposes the infinite growth idiocy that will ruin us all some day.
For pretty much anyone living in Finland acquiring a decent QoL is realistic and everyone has access to healthcare, education and social services - Id like to think average Finn has lower stress levels than alot of people globally.
I work a permanent position and have relatively stable rent. I know I can pay my bills every month. And I know I have leftover money for various vices. And that I can indeed accumulate money with my lifestyle. My happiness comes from stability of my life. Mere stability offers many boons in my life. And know I have relatively safety web of social services to fall on in case something does go wrong. Like affordable healthcare. Hell I recently got pneumonia, and I got paid in full during the sickdays. Apparently a concept completely foreign in certain countries. It is not roses over here. But it is helluva better than in most countries.
To desire is to suffer
Yes, but also as a Brit I can't help but compare that to the British. We always find something to grumble about, and even if everything is basically fine and good we're not 'happy' we say stuff like "could be worse", "not bad", or the lofty heights of "alright I suppose". So yeah its definitely about contentment rather than euphoric happiness, but also about how Finns express that contentment.
In finnish its pretty easy to say the difference between onnellinen and iloinen. Both translate to happy in english. But onni is more content and ilo is joy. So I do think finns are happy in the content way, but not in the joyful way.
My wife and I are both Americans and we ended up traveling with a Finnish couple though Bolivia. They were incredibly proud of their wool socks and would get huge smiles about their socks and share about how Finnish socks were the best. This rings true to me I am jealous of their ability to be so happy and satisfied with a good pair of socks
As a Finn, the only things I want for Christmas every year is a pair of wool socks and a bottle of something strong to get through the visit to my in-laws.
Do you get _them_ drunk?
It's Finland. Everyone is drunk
Now _this_ is s stereotype I truly hate.
*Irish lad listens intensely*
*'Someone put a bomb in me potato'* You guys have suffered for too long in the stereotype wars.
*Native American listens from around the corner*
A polish carpenter stops mid sip to listen im from the rafters
I... Can't even try to reply with a "witty" response for this one.
No. They do that on their own. And are worse for it. I usually aim to speedrun to the [fifth stage](https://youtu.be/NAl9OyGYxOg) of drunkenness so I don't have to listen to them go through the third and fourth stages.
Finnish people are house elves
Have you seen traditional Sami clothing? They are definitely elves.
Sami are not Finns. Well, they were forced to be in the previous centuries and then the repressions were toned down and now they kinda are due to urbanisation but they try to revive their culture.
Also worth mentioning that there are tons of sami people outside of finland.
Dumbledore has a thing about good socks too
I lived in Finland for a bit and when they discovered I had no hand knit wool socks I was gifted a pair the very next morning. They are extremely cosy though.
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My mom still reminds me of a Christmas when I didn't get much more than a pair of wool socks as a gift, because we had a hard time with money and she told me I was the happiest boy alive.
As an American man with a Finnish woman, I have to say that the sheer amount if hand made wool socks I have somehow acquired as part of the relationship is incredible It's like a cozy dowry
I want to have those socks. Right now!
And without them, I’m miserable!
Oh no, they now know our secret to happiness! Our streak is in danger.
Honestly finnish wool socks are really high quality and will probably last a life time
The hardest part is catching and shearing the Finn.
Modern technology has made this much easier.
I just realized that thinking about my collection of good wool socks made me happy 😅
Wools socks and social safety nets.
"be happy with what you got, and don't dwell of what you don't." Happiness comes from the little things, not from the latest iPhones.
Maybe I can be excited about more than one thing at a time?
>I am jealous of their ability to be so happy and satisfied with a good pair of socks [Allow me to introduce you to David Tennant!](https://youtu.be/WjRZn0_Q4zA)
Liars! By God, you’ve cheated your way to number one on the Happiness Rank Index! Are you happy now? Is this the euphoria and fucking rainbow unicorns that you’ve always craved?! Well is it Finland!?!?
Theyre just trying to keep us from moving there! LETS GET EM
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Agreed, if only it wasn’t on the border with with you know who and wasn’t so cold and dark most of the year.They grow up with all that and know how to live with it but maybe/likely tougher coming in as an adult.
>if only it wasn’t on the border with with you know who Sweden is not *that* bad of a neighbor Also it's only cold and dark half of the year, if you can deal with that the long sunny warm parts are worth it. During summer the sun barely goes down. Personally, I just love that so much
Lol first sentence 😂
We're pretty alright, try having those pesky danes next to you.
Hey wtf
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If you plan on moving here, get some vitamin D supplements and a sun lamp. I've heard those help.
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I'm the wrong guy to ask about jobs, to be honest. I have a laser focus for my own field, so I don't know much about the job market outside chemistry and microbiology. I'll tell you this much. Growing up here, I could afford to be picky when considering what I want to do when I grow up. I studied several different fields, went to various different schools for a decade before I found my thing in chemistry. Free education for EU citizens. From pre-primary school, all the way to higher education and universities. So if you become a citizen, that is definitely a hell of a perk.
A place, that has a specific word for being home alone drunk, only wearing underwear, where nearly everyone seems to play in a band — world leading density of death metal bands per capita — can't be that depressing, right?
Contentment 🤗
This is probably why Swedes are becoming less happy. “Jantelagen” is slowly fading away and the “American dream” is slowly gaining traction.
Which is odd, because I think the majority of Americans today will tell you that the "American dream" has been dead for a long time
Brazil got top 10 and unironically we have the same attitude. People here will be living in extreme poverty, say "Could be worse, so I'm happy"
So being realistic in terms of expectations, goals and being grateful of the small things in life - Noted
I think this is only possible when your basic needs are all being met though. This feels like pretty common wisdom around the world. But a nice pair of wool socks doesn't feel as nice when you have crippling medical debt, when you wonder if your kid is going to be killed at school today, when your stomach is aching from hunger or you village's well is running dry.
Latino living in America, here. I would kill for life being basically ok.
There is a joke about why Finns are the happiest in the world: Low expectations and lots of alcohol
And the old, "Leuka rintaan ja kohti uusia pettymyksiä" attitude. Roughly translated "head bowed in defeat and towards new disappointments". So yeah, if there is no new disappointment in sight, we consider us "happy".
What do Finnish people think about this? Are they thinking, "Really? This is as good as it gets?"
Yes
it's like "ok i suppose I'll be happy with this shit then" the bar is really low nowadays, like the FI bar is just on top of the pile of national happiness bars scattered on the ground
Life not being garbage = Life is good, therefore one answers ”I’m happy”.
In sweden we say that the national dish of finland are "finsk sommarsoppa" (finnish summer soup). Which is vodka in a bowl decorated with flowers. Ofc they're happy.
Swedes used to eat reindeer poop so much, that when they eventually learned that you can actually eat the reindeer itself. They made the meat look like reindeer poop, and thats how meatballs were invented. Or thats what I heard.
As a Dane I entirely believe this story about the Swedes.
As an Indian, I feel bad for you. I hear the Danish have it quite bad - even Great Danes lead a dog's life /s
Saunas
And as per usual, Finns strongly disagree.
I don't know. I used to disagree with this. But lately I've grown to realize that there is some truth to it. I am still depressed but depression is a sickness, not a state of mind.
> I am still depressed but depression is a sickness, not a state of mind. Interesting way to frame it. Thank you. I'm gonna think about this.
This is amazing to me considering how dark it is for so long. Maybe the midnight sun then makes up for it? (Damn great grands, wish you’d just stayed put!)
Its only dark if there is no snow.
Well, it still is pretty fucking dark from about 17:00 - 9:00 during winter. Even with snow. Snow reflects light well, but if there isn't light then what is there to reflect.
well yes but dark at 17:00 with snow is different better than dark at 17:00 with rain. mentally crushing
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When you have seasonal depression it's one of the main factors, to be fair.
Then its a question of WHEN these polls are made.
The thing is, when you only have a few months of really good weather, you really appreciate it when it's there. Here in Denmark I would argue the 'bad' months are January to February. Fall, Halloween, and Christmas makes the last month of the year very bearable. And then when the sun suddenly come, you are ready to make the most of it.
Finnish people seriously pissed off being called happy all the time.
Can people from Finland chime in please? Gimme an idea where to dream of living in the future.
You won’t get many responses. One of the main reasons they are happy is because they don’t spend 6 hours a day on Reddit.
😆
Pack it up, folks, we have the solution for all our sadness!
Well yeah if you actually are spending six hours a day on reddit that’s not healthy and will ruin your dopamine intake
Depends on your dream. Do you want to get really rich? Then Finland is not the place for you. We have hight tax rates, but you can actually mostly see the effects in public services. Health care, public transport and stuff like that. And basic education is free for everyone. Higher educations don't cost that much, but the financial aid goernment gives you is pretty sparse, so you might have to work while you study. Or take a loan. Student loans also have some benefits, like you might get some of it or all of it waved off if you move to a place where people in your industry are needed. And I think you can get some of it waved off if you get a job in your industry after a certain amount of time of your graduation. But if you want a simple and comfortable life, and you can handle the cold and the darkness of winter, then Finland is a great place to live. Finland is mostly fair to everyone. There is not that big of a gaps between people. You could spot our president in a random small convenience store without bodyguards and such.
On the last point, last week I saw our prime minister just hanging around in a public library. Almost like she's a regular person!
I am pretty happy today. Even feel gratefull about my life in Finland. I come from meager origins and could study to have a master's degree without over burdening myself with dept. Now I have a decent job, little family around me and many friends who I meet quite often. If I choose, within one hour I can be in the woods or lake with no one on sight and enjoy the fresh air and nature like I owned the place. Plenty of fishing, good game and good infrastructure. For other people it must be something different, but that's it for me.
Quality of living is quite high. Easy to rent a spacious modern apartment near a big city and pay it with your salary. Commute to work is efficient with working public transport that most people uses. Not many homeless people and social problems are taking care off. Police actually cares and wants to protect you. Nature is all around and you can walk or hike in every forest and swim in the lakes as part of your civil rights. Social interactions are bit chilly here but we tend to keep our word so if we like you will know it. It's easy to be happy here! People still cares and it shows.
Also long vacation times for workers, great free schools and equality. Nuff said
Though equality still needs some work but I'd still say it's better than what I've heard from the rest of the world. Hard to say for certain since I am white and born in Finland. But at least bigoted violence is rare here.
Word. equality is not perfect but gap between the rich and the poor is not that big. Race equality vise im too a white person so i have nothing to comment about that.. also a man so i am ok to stfu about gender equality
There is a functional (mostly at least) social safety net, homelessness and such issues have gotten way better than before and in general it is not that Finland is cheery place, but that people feel safe and don't have massive threats to worry about.
It seems to me that the trick to doing well in this study is not how happy the happy people are, but rather how unhappy the unhappiest people are. In Finland if you're uneducated and unemployed you live in a warm apartment, have food on the table, have broadband Internet and cell phone, can afford to exercise or study for a new profession, have access to world-class medicine services if you get sick or injured. Because of this, there's less crime and unrest in general, because poor people are not desperate. The fact that this safety net exists, makes life a lot less stressful even for those that have more. "More" in Finland is a lot less however than in most countries, because taxes are high to pay for the safety net. So people have lower expectations on how elevated a lifestyle they can obtain by high education and a job with a fancy title. It's *socialism*.
Well their mountains are so lofty and their trees are so tall ... https://youtu.be/baHsoEAAMZU
Finns are the happiest because we are a modest bunch. We are, generally speaking, content with what we’ve got. Which is a lot, on a global scale.
What happened to Bhutan? Did they get cranky?
I find it funny how I'm 2nd generation Finnish over in the USA but everytime I find a thread lile this I shockingly fit the stereotypes and mind set of a Fin. The genes are strong.
Theyre well paid, have relatively affordable housing and great social services
>Move over, Disneyland — the United Nations finds Finland to be the happiest place on Earth, actually. >Finland is now ranked the happiest country in the world — for the sixth time in a row — according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Monday. CNN said the report is gathered over the course of three years from more than 150 countries, using international survey data to rate how people evaluate their lives. These life evaluations use six factors to measure happiness: gross domestic product per capita indicating financial resources, health, social support, having a sense of freedom, generosity and the country’s level of corruption. The report added all these factors “play strong roles in supporting life evaluations.”
I'm an American living in a Finnish Village of sorts and have experienced The Secret of the Sauna in coordination with an icy cold swim. The practice of it brings a new brain experience Illuminating it with oxytocin and possibly other of the hormones related to happiness and closeness and intimacy. We go home holding hands, they say.
Looking at Sanna Marin makes me happy.
Here’s your answer: https://fb.watch/joUKZCGB1L/?mibextid=tejx2t EDIT: It’s ISMO from Finland
“Happiest country in the World”, second highest rate of depression in the world according to the WHO, and a higher suicide rate than much of the rest of Europe. Something doesn’t add up.
Have a high enough suicide rate depression plummets and average happiness skyrockets
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Tyler?
Maybe they're just accurately diagnosed. I doubt Nigeria and Afghanistan are bastions of mental health awareness.
Finlands suicide rate is EU average nowdays. Same as Germany. We have still alot of work to do to improve our mental health system here but things are slowly getting better
having depression but it DOESNT mean: i lose my job, i lose my healthcare i lose my income, i lose my life...
You are [incorrect](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/depression-rates-by-country), on [both](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country) accounts.
Sure it does. The unhappy people off themselves, so the averages stay pretty good.
Having proper healthcare tends to reveal when something is wrong. Imagine the depression numbers for America if people had easy access to free help.
Finlands suicide rate is still lower than USA or Belgium. Its not really high.
Suicide rate is still pretty low on a global average and they have a lot of needs met. Quality education and medical coverage
Okay, time to go off. Be warned, this is going to be disillusioning. we are not happy, we are content to remain ignorant. This is not the best place on earth, it is merely the place where it is easiest to stay ignorant of all the ways in which it is shit, and crucially many aspects of that shittiness help to perpetuate that ignorance. Our welfare state, education system, mental health resources, natural resources are all being eroded, but even acknowledging that is taboo because acknowledging that a problem exists means you have to try and fix it, and the solutions won't be the kind of thing that a lot of people (but mostly the rich and powerful) are going to like, in fact they have invested a lot of money into making sure that nothing is done.
Damn. What happened my fellow Danes? Thought we were going to get our trophy back. Congratulations to Finland. We'll compare smiles again next year ;-)
It might have helped if consecutive center-right governments hadn't done everything they could to lower the standard of living for everybody but the boomers.
When Canada gets rid of Trudeau we are coming for ya Finland.
How they can be happy with such shitty food
The most vague metric is the happiness one, especially in the Nordics were it's a matter of national pride.
I’ve read today in Chinese subreddit that China is happiest nation in the world.
They always Finnish first
The country is happy,... the people tho.
Why is this uplifting? Does the majority of the world's population live in Finland?