Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday.
Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.
Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
When it comes to decreasing happiness — or growing unhappiness —the United States has dropped to its lowest-ever position at 24, having previously peaked at 11th place in 2012. The report states that the number of people dining alone in the United States has increased 53% over the past two decades.
As a Finn, I’d like to remind you this is 50% bullshit.
They go around asking people how they are and in Finnish culture, you’re not allowed to complain, and our society sees to it that we give even substance abusers and drunks rent money, so people answer “can’t complain”.
Finnish people are emotionally stunted and don’t even understand the concept of happiness.
What a load of shit, people complain openly all the time. Foreigners are even shocked when sometimes we’re too frank in answering "how are you doing
You think the ranking is bs because we realize that things are pretty good here? People say “can’t complain” because they are content with what they got and know things could be a lot worse. It’s not being emotionally stunted or some other bs, it’s the realization that things are pretty good here.
It’s funny, every time we do good in something there’s loads of these people who rush to say how it’s bs and how we actually suck. Now that’s the Finnish spirit.
It’s literally measuring contentedness, not happiness.
Saying “Finland is the happiest country in the world” is akin to those studies which say “one glass of wine gives you the benefits of a half hour at the gym” or smth. Completely misunderstood. Based in reality but strongly exaggerated.
It’s very different being un-discontented vs being “happy”
I agree that the name can be misleading because different people and different cultures view happiness differently. Life is good here, so we are content. But I disagree that we aren’t happy too, we’re just happy with fairly little. Some nice peace and quiet at the summer cabin, good sauna, that’s happiness.
And this isn’t the first time you do this.
I be asserted this several times because I know my shit and what the study is actually about.
You alway come in to deny deny deny deny
EXACTLY the sort of willful ignorance
I’m sorry but I’m not sure what you are talking about here. Are you saying we had this conversation last year?
Honestly.
The lengths you will go to avoid seeing how the system in Finland literally TORTURED me for DAYS and NO-ONE CAN EVEN ACCEPT IT HAPPENED, LIKE YOU.
It’s beyond delusional.
https://ibb.co/fzF4w32J
What the fuck are you talking about, I have no idea who you are or what happened to you
Case in point.
Thanks for showing people rhe extent of your willful ignorance
Fuck right off with that shit. It’s the exact type of bullshit I’m talking about.
You just refuse to accept any fault in our systems and me criticising the systems which literally made people break my basic human rights and decency. For days without medication, a day without water. Completely fucking psychotic, drawing with my blood on the walls.
And afterwards, no-one wants to admit this happened. Not my family, not lawyers, not anyone.
But I’ve the proof, so…
Fuck your “Finnish dream” it’s a delusion
Nobody is saying the system is perfect, far from it (with people complaining on the reg), just that we have things a lot better than most places. Which makes it easy to be content and even happy. If recognizing that things are good and being happy with fairly little is a delusion, it’s a delusion I’m happy to have, along with a lot of other Finns.
It’s like with the corruption thing, when Finland was #1 people rushed to say how there’s still corruption in Finland. No shit, but it’s a ranking and it’s comparing to other countries. We just have less than most.
This sounds pretty personal.
You just won’t believe it.
It’s insane that I have to argue you about a thing existing which you’re giving the perfect textbook demonstration of.
No, it’s not “a lot better tham others [so the fact you got tortured doesn’t mean anything which is why it’s okay for me to. Completely ignore it]”
You’re doing the exact autistic denial bullshit that infects 98% of Finnish population
I mean, on all sorts of quality of life rankings and factors we’re almost always at the top. If there’s such a thing as on objectively good place to live, Finland seems to be one of them. Not sure what you feel like our ranking should be on QoL and what sort of places should rank higher.
If you’re very unhappy with life here then I can understand it being hard to believe that others are genuinely happy to live here. If 98% believe that it just might be that it’s not them who are in denial.
Again.
Denial.
Literal refusal to even acknowledge the torture that happened.
You believe in things which don’t exist and refuse to believe in shit that exists, while saying that it’s not a problem that all Finns have that level or reality-escaping built into them.
You’re literally deluded worse than North Koreans.
You can not accept a single fault in Finland.
I like the country, which is why I despise cowards like you. Vitun paskahousu.
https://ibb.co/fzF4w32J
You’re living in a complete fucking fiction.
https://yle.fi/a/3-5245931
I have evidence and I can discuss reality — something which a coward like you is literally unable to even conceive.
So… people with addictions are treated as people and provided for, and they ‘can’t complain’ about their overall circumstances. Therefore the Finnish are emotionally stunted? There’s a leap of logic here
As someone who grew up in Finland, I get what they mean. Finns only bitch about things to their inner friend circle (very small circle usually), anyone outside that gets maybe a sarcastic everything’s great, especially that thing that’s really pissing me off right now kind of response. At the same time pretty much everyone gets treated generally fine and there is great support available for anyone, so it checks out those markers I assume this happiness quiz thing looks for. Why this feels weird for Finns though, is that there’s also some widespread deep depression in Finnish culture. From my viewpoint as someone who hasn’t lived in Finland for a long time now, I think unlike most other places the source of the depression isn’t the system grinding you down, it’s more internal than that. Maybe just dealing with the elements and trying to figure out what you want do with your life kind of shit.
Back home we were always joking, that Finland and Hungary are distant cousins in a head to head competition for highest amount of alcohol abuse and suicide.
I’m not Finnish and I got it. Sounds like my dad who’s a bit of a hardass and doesn’t like for others to worry. Life is hard, what’s complaining going to do? And yeah I’d say he’s emotionally stunted and has trouble forming real connections.
Yeah that sounds right on. That’s very common attitude/outlook with Finnish men at least. Not sure if the ladies are different or if my sample size just isn’t large enough, but the women I know are more open.
I’d agree.
Except I know support isn’t actually available. Everyone says it is. But it actually isn’t.
You won’t get evicted or starve, but battling bureaucracy and being ignored by people will get to your happiness.
I get what you mean, support in laws and numbers is not real solidarity, and therefore not effective nor complete support.
But from an outsider perspective (and i still leave in one of the most “supporting” country i’d say), it’s already a big step from our current position to not get evicted or starve.
It’s a good thing to know that solving symptoms with money does not solve problems though, but i feel like it remains hard to explain to people that it’s not already a big step forward.
Financially? Sure.
“Getting help when you’re feeling like killing yourself”? Nah.
Like literally I couldn’t get help. The ER doc dismissed me, a crisis center dismissed me, my family dismissed me. Even after the documented seizures and me not getting any fucking help.
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I was always told that when someone asks how you are you say “Unbelievable!” because it can mean everything and nothing.
Definitely not what I said.
You’re saying I’m saying A caused B, when I am actually saying that A is a symptom of B.
Want to see the pictures of the cell I was kept in for more than three days without my prescribed meds?
There is no way a majority of the guards / police could’ve been ignorant of it. Also, they turned off my water for almost a day. Literally crimed against humanity.
I once walked into an ER and after telling them I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself or someone else, the on-call psychiatrist told me “don’t try to make this my responsibility”. Like… my man. That’s literally your job description and legal duty.
But here you are, a Finn, I presume, making strawmen, since the only feeling you haven’t repressed is anger towards people who actually feel.
I was actually wondering about that. Finland keeps getting this high ranking, so at what point do the Finnish people feel obligated to maintain that reputation when they answer these surveys? For at least a few people, I’d imagine it becomes a small point of pride.
There’s been actually a huge counter-reaction to this, with people rushing to say how the ranking must be bullshit. I’d imagine that at least outweighs that potential pride effect. It was PISA we used to cherish.
I’m curious about what might have changed. Has there been a quality of life change or a perceptual change?
For the happiness thing, it’s been that way for a long time. i think part of it is just us being terrible at appreciating good news hah. For PISA it’s that our ranking has been dropping so now it’s not cherished but just painful.
I half agree with this. There’s it’s own kind of happiness in being stoic and staying to one self.