Not many people get happiness easily, and when they get it, it is so difficult to hold for long. Philosophers, economists, and scientists have defined happiness as different things, and a few of them could be security, companionship, wealth, and health.
Did you know that Finland is the happiest country in the world? Well, Nordic countries are the happiest countries globally, and Finland ranks as the number one happiest country. This is not just the first time that Finland has ranked first, it is for the fifth time consecutively. Denmark comes next, followed by Sweden. They take second place and third place respectively. There are six categories that these countries are scored on. These countries have an overall score of 7.3. It is scored on a scale of 8. The “uitwaaien” habit of the people of the Netherlands brings them to number 5. The 16th rank goes to the United States, with a 6.97 score.
The United Nations 2011 resolved that when they measured the happiness in a country, they would have a holistic approach to determine how the economic and social development should be measured. Now, the governments give a lot of weight to this when deciding how happy a country is.
The world is undergoing devastating and disastrous problems. However, people in countries like Finland and Denmark are not giving up, and they are finding different ways to make it and not just make it but also be happy. The latest edition of the publication of world happiness discovered that kindness is increasing worldwide, and the unforeseen problems that keep coming up have not affected it much.
The World Happiness ReportÂ
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network releases The World Happiness Report every year, and it ranks the happiness of countries around the globe. There are 150 countries, and the ranking is given by statisticians depending on the data collected from The Gallup World Poll. The factors that this ranking is given upon are life expectancy, GDP, and a few others.
The World Happiness Report in the last ten years has used data from annual surveys that have responses from millions of people around these 150 countries. The report released this year has used data from surveys that The Gallup World Poll conducted from 2019 through 2021. They measure not only levels of life expectancy but also freedom, social support, corruption, and generosity. Once this data is collected, they compare the data to that country that is the benchmark and has the lowest level of these aspects globally.
Finland is ranked as the happiest country in the world. Denmark comes next, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, and the Netherlands.
Why Is Finland the Happiest Country in the World?
According to research, the ranking of these countries is not only about culture. But how the institutions make sure that their people are doing well is what it focuses on. This is what makes the people highly satisfied with the quality of their life in these countries.
A few Helsinki- based experts at the Aalto University say that other factors also contribute to the success of this country’s happiness, including their urban planning and the availability of green spaces that reduce stress and also promote physical activities. Finland also has a strong education and healthcare system, and its progressive taxation is also very effective.
War-torn countries saw the weakest scores. Afghanistan ranked last. And Israel ranked ninth, and Palestine came at 122nd. Also, Russia ranks 80th in the year’s report, and Ukraine ranks 98th. However, these ranks are expected to be different in future reports.
Conclusion:
It is the third year for the world to be facing the pandemic. This report has a few areas that it focuses on. Mainly, it looks at how these countries and the people living in these countries face the pandemic, how they are looking ahead to great mental and physical well-being, and how they are taking the opportunity to evolve for a better tomorrow.
The report this year has found noticeable growth across the world when it comes to showing an act of kindness that The Gallup World Poll monitored. Donating, volunteering, and helping strangers were a few noticeable aspects in almost all countries across the globe, and these levels interestingly increased nearly 25% before the pandemic started.