It’s a good day to be a Finn –Again.
For the 8th consecutive year, Finland ranks n ° 1 on the annual report on the world of happiness. The report, published on the International Day of Happiness of the UN, is based on the analysis of the way in which residents of more than 140 countries assess their quality of life. With 10 signifying that someone is currently living the best possible life he can imagine, Finns arrived first with an average score of 7.74.
“They are rich, they are in good health, have social ties, social support, [and] A link with nature, ”says Jan-Emmanuel de Neve, professor of economics at the University of Oxford, leader of the Wellbeing Research Center and editor-in-chief of the World Happiness Report, says Fortune. “They are not happy, joyful, dancing in the streets, but they are very satisfied with their lives.”
Finland was followed by Denmark (n ° 2), Iceland (n ° 3), Sweden (n ° 4) and the Netherlands (n ° 5). While Mexico (n ° 10) and Costa Rica (n ° 6) joined the top 10 for the first time in the history of the list, the United States fell to its lowest ranking in the NO. 24. Last year, the United States Abandoned from the top 20 For the first time since the 2012 inaugural list.
The Nordic countries, historically at the top, become happier while the United States becomes less happy. While GDP per capita is relatively similar in the Nordic countries, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, the distribution of wealth distinguishes them.
“In these Scandinavian Nordic countries, a rising tide raises all boats, so that the levels of economic inequality are much lower, and this also reflects well-being,” explains Neve. “In Finland, most people will note seven or eight, while if you look at the distribution of well-being in the United States, there are a lot of 10, but there are also many.”
While the classification taken into account in the per capita GDP of a country, the distribution of wealth and life expectancy, they have found that social confidence and the connection help to determine happiness more than people think.
This year, the researchers found a strong correlation between someone believing in the kindness of others and their own perceived happiness. Overall, too often, people underestimate the kindness of others, for example, if someone returns a lost wallet. He affects well-being. The portfolios have returned to their owner almost twice the rate that people suppose. However, compared to the United States, more people in Nordic countries think that a lost portfolio will be returned (and more people are likely to return it).
Maintaining a strong feeling of community with acts such as eating regularly with others, for example, improves social confidence and happiness, according to the report. “The more you believe in the kindness of others, or in other words, make socially trust, the more your individual well-being and the higher collective well-being,” explains Neve. “The Nordic countries, the Scandinavian countries, do better, both in the belief in the kindness of others and in the real fall of the portfolio.”
As for Mexico and Costa Rica, joining the top 10 for the first in the history of the list, De Neve underlines the strength of the social fabrics of the countries. Latin American countries have reported the greatest number of shared meals and ranked at the top of social connectivity and confidence. This helps to explain why their ranking has dropped more spectacular in the years of isolation COVID-19 (de Neve says that 13 meals on 14 shared over seven days were correlated with the greatest well-being measure).
“It is not because of high GDP and the highest life expectancy,” said Neve about these two countries. “They spend time eating and lunch with others, having friends, and it’s not all cannibalized by social media, and we have therefore picked up this in the data.”
The report is published each year by the Wellbeing Research Center of the University of Oxford, alongside partners, in particular Gallup, the one Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an editorial committee which analyzes the Pro Bono results.
While De Neve has dug why Finland kept its reign, something else has been revealed that helped them stand out even from their Nordic counterparts.
“They are content less,” he says. “They had less, and they are more satisfied with less. So they are happier for what they have.”
Here are the 25 happiest countries in the world
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Suede
- The Netherlands
- Costa Rica
- Norway
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
To find out more about happiness:
- The researchers have followed more than 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here is what they discovered
- Americans are proof that money cannot buy happinessThe new report shows
- You can learn to be happier. This class can teach you how in just 1 week
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
