The happiest country in the world

By Tess Riley

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For the second year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report. What’s more, the Nordic nation has pulled “significantly ahead” of the other top 10 countries in the 2019 report, which ranks the happiness levels of 156 countries using data from Gallup World Poll surveys. The U.S., by contrast, has continued its downward trend. This year it’s in 19th place for overall happiness. Last year it was 18, down from 14 the year before.

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It’s not hard to understand why Finland is doing so well. The northern European country has a strong social safety net, including a progressive, successful approach to ending homelessness. It also has a high-quality education system, and its commitment to closing the gender gap is paying off. With a population of just over 5.5 million people, it’s the only country in the developed world where fathers spend more time with school-aged children than mothers.

Finnish society has been built in such a way that people are supported but still feel like they have control over their lives, said Anu Partanen, the author of The Nordic Theory of Everything, who recently moved back to her native Finland after a decade in New York.

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“Most people would like a life where they can get health care if they get sick, where their children get a good education, where they can work and hopefully feel fulfilled in that work, while still being able to spend time with loved ones,” Partanen told HuffPost. “It’s not that Finns are necessarily looking to become immensely rich. I think Finland just does a pretty good job of helping people achieve this lovely, ordinary life.” 

The top 10 happiest countries are, as in previous years, dominated by the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden, as well as Finland. And all but two of them, New Zealand and Canada, are in Europe.

significantly

ranks

downward

overall

approach

commitment

paying off

sick

fulfilled

ordinary 

1. overall = general

2. sick = ill

3. significantly = seriously

4. commitment = dedication

5. ordinary = usual, normal

6. paying off = be effective

7. fulfilled = satisfied

8. downward = decreasing

9. rank = classify

10. approach = method