We are interested in what makes Finns happy and Finland the happiest place to live in the world. It is intriquing that Finland has been chosen as the happiest country in the world for a fourth time in a row. What makes Finland so special? How is the Finnish happiness created on the individual and societal level?
It seems that we are clearly doing something right over here. As the authors of the World Happiness Report point out most of the differences in happiness outcomes were connected to differences in life expectancy, social support, gross domestic product per capita, generosity, freedom to make life choices and for example to subjective perception of corruption levels. Questions such as: “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?”or “Were you treated with respect all day yesterday?” were used to evaluate the subjective experience of individuals.
Although Finland has ranked high in happiness we are far from perfect. Just like in other countries in our continent, unemployment is high compared to other countries in European Union and we rank high in both depression and suicide rates. On the other hand our public school system is among the best in the world, public health care system is available to all and we have a relatively low rate of powerty compared to others. One thing that has been highlighted in the studies is trust. We trust each other and the society at large.