Much my husband Joel's disbelief Finland did it again: It got ranked the happiest place in the world for the 4th consecutive year by the survey organization Gallup! You can read all about the study starting for example in the press release or the World Happiness Report - Overview As the Gallup report says, 2020 was "a year like no other" with "greater economic insecurity, anxiety, disruption of every aspect of life, and, for many people, stress and challenges to mental and physical health". Yet, people appear to be quite resilient even though there was a "higher frequency of negative emotion". Per one of the authors: "Surprisingly there was not, on average, a decline in well-being when measured by people's own evaluation of their lives”. Also the rankings are virtually unchanged with same countries remaining on the top as the year prior.
To Joel, Finland's #1 ranking is puzzling because he finds Finns to be somewhat serious, joyless people. He misses acknowledgement of some form when passing strangers on the sidewalk; small talk at stores; a friendly wave if he gives way to another car; rambunctious joking around with friends; and generally pervasive laughter and smiles. Sure, I also think little small talk makes shopping more enjoyable and smiles and being friendly brighten everyone's day - but I don't find myself lacking this in Finland. I actually find Finns - even strangers - on the whole to be very helpful and friendly. It seems to me they have gotten to be more so since I left in 1988... but maybe that is just me getting older? And to me there are plenty of downright hilarious and witty Finns. (For some excellent Finnish humor, Google the comedian Ismo...) Perhaps this is because I speak both languages and have lived in both places long enough to culturally blend in with either Finns or Americans. Or perhaps it is that Finns just take a while to warm up? I've known some of these fun people for ages and we are of course comfortable joking around. (Caveat: I always joke that I had to leave Finland because I talk too much so perhaps I'm not actually the best to judge on this topic.)
Joel is naturally looking at the reserved and outwardly somewhat serious Finns through an American lens. Meanwhile, American extrovertness and big smiles are a bit unnerving to most Finns; they might even view it as phony or superficial. (Or even worse, some of them assume someone walking down the street smiling for no reason could possibly be mentally ill.) The classic source of confusion to Finns is the American phrase "How are you?". I've long since learnt that in the US this is just a greeting, not an earnest question and a conversation starter. I also know Americans aren't always in a good mood. In fact, I think there is some pressure to put on a happy face no matter what: it doesn't seem to be culturally acceptable to be negative so who knows what troubles and stress lie behind the jolly veneer. At the end of the day, I suspect happiness can't really be measured by outward demeanor, not even smiles.
Before I looked at the happiness report, I thought about why Finns might rule in this competition. My own comparison point was naturally the US since I've lived there for the past 20 years. I came up with a few reasons: Trust, Freedom, Equality and Nature. Sure enough, when I actually looked at the happiness report summary it said: "Trust is estimated to be more important for happiness than income, unemployment, and major health risk" and later concluded: "It comes as no surprise as Finland once again takes the top spot... It has always ranked very high on the measures of mutual trust." I wrote a separate post on the topic of trust and its manifestations in our daily lives but for now I'll just say that Finns expect things to be done well, fairly, honestly and on time. Your word is your bond and your reputation rests on you doing what you say you will do. Not only is there is a high degree of trust between individuals, Finns also trust the government. There is no corruption to speak of and Finns assume good intent and a baseline of competence by their government. I think this is a fair assumption given they have plenty of evidence the society is well run. Also, because of the social structure, there is trust you will be ok even if life doesn't go right - no fear about ending up on the streets homeless or mentally ill unable to get help. There is also much less cynicism, polarization or outright vitriol in political discourse in comparison to the US. To me it feels like the assumption is that everyone is looking out for the common good of the country and its citizens, even if they don't agree with the way others may be trying to get there.
I'd also say Finns enjoy a lot of freedom. This might sound odd to Americans, especially ones on the right of the political spectrum, because they think of US as the "land of the free" and worry about "socialism" coming to take their freedoms aw ay. To me freedom means the ability to make life decisions without constraints and the ability to live without fear. In the US I don't feel like I'm actually the master of my own destiny. I'm stuck in the classic hamster wheel: I work long hours to make enough money to pay for high living costs, kids hobbies and save for future university tuition as well as a secure retirement. And I couldn't quit my job even if I hated it: I'm dependent on my employer for our family's health insurance! There is universal healthcare so you don't have to worry about getting sick even if unemployed. Finland has free daycare and schools so parents aren't stuck at home unless they want to be. So if you fancy going back to school at 50 or you love painting, you're free to follow your dreams and know that some of your basic needs will be met. Heck you could probably even apply for some arts or study grant from tax payers! I also feel relaxed and free in terms of my family's safety in Finland. I can walk to the store alone at night without constantly checking my surroundings; I don't check out potential carjackers at the gas station; the front door is unlocked most of the time and I'm not worried about home invasions or robberies. Most importantly, the kids can walk to school, hobbies or a store by themselves. Kids have so much independence and freedom in Finland - even young elementary school kids take city busses by themselves! And I also don't worry about guns or school shootings. Actually Finland has pretty high gun ownership per capita thanks to hunting being relatively common but there are also many logical controls in place to ensure safety. To get a gun you need to pass a written gun safety test, a gun handling test, get a mental health assessment by a doctor and register the weapons with the police. I don't have a problem with gun ownership under this set-up.
Equality could be another factor that makes the Finns happy. On a concrete financial level, income polarization isn't a big issue in Finland. Partly this is thanks to taxation which is effectively a great equalizer. But also the range of salaries in Finland seems smaller: what would be a high paying job in the US is only modestly more lucrative than a"normal" job like being a teacher. I believe because there are less of the really "poor" (e.g. no homeless people to be seen) but also less of truly filthy rich, the population is not as disenfranchised or desparate leading to less crimes.
Another aspect of equality is is gender equality. Finland was the first country to grant women the right to vote and is nowadays famous abroad for its high-profile female political leaders. Having women in leadership roles isn't probably that big of a novelty for Finns though. Even growing up back in the 1970s, I don't recall ever sensing any gender based roles or expectations. Maybe that is why I ended up in physics in university without ever thinking of it as a "boy" thing... Also thanks to the free daycare and very long maternity leaves, women can balance life as a working mom fairly easily. As it is, it now strikes me as bit odd when US women's accomplishments are celebrated with fanfare "the first woman to do x..." I hope there comes a day when accomplished women are noted for their accomplishments, not for breaking any glass ceilings on the way there.
Equality to me also means equal opportunity. People used to talk about the "American Dream", the concept that you could become anything you want to be. I wonder how realistic that is in today's US because at least the path to education is largely dependent on where and to whom you were born. Finland provides all kids with truly the same opportunity. First, because of free (i.e. tax funded) healthcare, daycare, schools and school food, and even monthly child support payments to every family, kids should all be able attend school healthy and worry free. Also, there are no private schools so all kids go to equally good and equally funded schools. And if they do well in school, they can apply based on their merit (based on standard national end of high school exams or university entrance exams) to basically free universities. They can even get financial support to study without having to work a side job. At the end of the day, the opportunities may not be as huge - for example, you won't get as rich as a doctor in Finland as in the US - but you have as good a chance at become a doctor as anyone else who has a calling for it. And you won't go into debt for decades to do it!
Lastly, I think nature is the glue that binds together the other 3 pillar of Finnish happiness. Almost anywhere you live in Finland you are close to nature with an opportunity to enjoy it - for free. (The above pictures were taking within a km radius from our house.) There are lit walking/biking paths all over the place. There are thousands of lakes and serene, isolated lakefront cabins. And if you're not near a lake, chances are you're near the ocean. There is even a law called "jokamiehen oikeus" that guarantees you to the right to camp and enjoy nature's bounty (fish, hunt, forage for mushrooms or berries etc) anywhere in the country regardless of who owns the land! In the winter there are city maintained cross-country ski trails and ice skating rinks and you can go tobogganing all over the place. Even here, near Helsinki, we can get to an inexpensive (small) downhill ski place within a 30 minute drive.
Maybe I feel nature contributes to Finland's high happiness rankings because it has brought me a lot of joy this year. I'm thrilled that we've gotten to go skiing and skating with the kids (without having to get in a car) and that they've gotten to experience the joy of after-school pick up ice-hockey - all of this surrounded by evergreens. But I think I'm not alone: Everywhere I go, I see people of all ages out walking, hiking, jogging, biking, swimming, ice-skating, skiing or doing "sauvakävely" (oddly popular form of exercising, basically going for a walk with ski poles so your arms get movement too). And because Finland is relatively sparsely populated and the suburbs benefit from thoughtful urban planning, people doing these activities are likely doing it in or near nature. Japanese have a term for form of "eco therapy" which involves just being in the forest and connecting with mother earth: they call it "Forest Bathing". To Finns, spending time outdoors and enjoying fresh air and nature is just everyday life.
Beyond the above four big drivers of Finnish contentment, there are many other small uniquely Finnish things that enhance quality of life. This website is dedicated to talking about the year we spent in Finland as "Covid escapees"; I hope that some of our stories provide insight into these little "happinesses" of everyday life in Finland. Maybe our experience will help explain how the reserved, low key Finns might just be the "happiest people on Earth".
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