Finland Named the World’s Happiest Country again amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Finland is the world’s happiest country according to the United Nations.

Finland has once again been named the world’s happiest country. The Nordic nation of 5.5m people topped a global happiness survey for the third year running. The UK was 13th.

Finland’s capital, Helsinki, was also named the world’s happiest city, while London was 36th behind Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

a little boy that is standing on a sidewalk

Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, said that the secret of her country’s success was how Finns cared for each other and the environment and benefited from the best possible education.

“In essence, this index says that the Finnish welfare state gives everyone an opportunity for well-being in life,” she told a news conference shared by video-link to help counter the spread of Covid-19.

Top of the world

Sanna Marin narrowly won the vote to replace Antti Rinne (Photo: AFP via Getty)

Asked whether Finland could remain the happiest nation in the face of the epidemic, Ms Marin said: “I believe Finnish grit will take us through this and together we will build a country which is a good place to be for every child.”

On Friday, Finland had 450 cases of the virus and no deaths. The Government has announced a 15bn euro aid package amid warnings the economy could shrink by up to four per cent.

Based on a global ranking of happiness levels across 156 countries, Finland has claimed (again) the No. 1 spot in this year's World Happiness Report 2020, determined through a measurement of happiness and well-being, with 10 being the best life possible. With a score of 7.809, check out this gallery to see what Finland is doing better than the rest of the world.

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s World Happiness Report ranked 156 countries based on scores for life expectancy, social support, social freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption.

The other happiest countries in the top-10, in descending order, were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria and Luxembourg. The UK was 13th.

For the first time since the report began in 2012, it also ranked the happiness of cities around the world based on subjective feelings of wellbeing. That survey ranked 186 cities worldwide, with Helsinki coming out on top.

The UN survey uses a variety of polling organisations, official figures and research methods to calculate the rankings.

One of the world’s Safest Nations

Crowded Aleksi street, Helsinki, Finland

Finland regularly tops polls for being one of the world’s safest and best nations. It’s titles in the last four years have included the most stable, the freest, the safest, the best governed, and the least insecure country in the world.

It one of the most prosperous countries in the world, has the world’s most independent judicial system, the least organised crime and has one of the best pension systems. It is also one of the world’s richest countries.

Julma-Ölkky canyon. Boat trip through the canyon. Hossa National Park. Suomussalmi minicipality. Kainuu region. Finland

“This was happy news this morning,” Finland’s justice minister Anna-Maja Henriksson said.

“We are used to getting through tough times by doing things together. This is the way to weather this crisis too and to be the happiest country next year too.”

The lakes in Finland are a great place to spend the summer holidays with the whole family

“Time and again we see the reasons for wellbeing include good social support networks, social trust, honest governments, safe environments, and healthy lives,” Jeffrey Sachs, director of SDSN and one of the editors of the report, said.