Finns are the world’s happiest, but Finland have their share of challenges
A UN report says Finland is the happiest country in the world, boasting of excellent governance, social support, freedom, stability, equality, inclusivity, education and nature.
To celebrate the 70th year of Thailand-Finland diplomatic relations, Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Ville Tavio spoke at a seminar on “Finland: the happiest country in the world”.
The UN World Happiness Report 2023 put Finland at the top for the seventh consecutive year while Thailand was ranked 60 out of 143 countries.
The report measured eight factors: confidence in the government, quality of democracy, GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, available social support, freedom to make decisions, generosity in society and absence of corruption.
Finland scored high in most of them. For example, The Legatum Prosperity Index 2023 shows Finland as having the best governance in the world, the Fragile States Index ranked it as the most stable nation, Reporters Without Borders placed it at fifth for best press freedom, and the Social Progress Index showed Finland as the most inclusive for minorities.
Tavio highlighted other factors in Finnish society such as gender equality, an excellent education system, and abundance of nature as also factors that contributed to making Finland the happiest country in the world.
However, Finland still has problems to figure out. According to the World Health Organization, 5% of Finland’s population suffered from depression and suicide rate was 13.4 per 100,000 people, placing the country at No. 37. In addition, the indigenous “Sámi” people in the northern Lapland of the country are facing ownership and land use issues.
