In Finland, a relatively egalitarian society, people tend not to be determined to “keep up with the Joneses.”
“People do pretty well in social comparison,” said Antti Kauppinen, a professor of philosophy at the University of Helsinki. “It starts with education; everyone has access to a good education. The differences in income and wealth are relatively small. ”
David Pfister, an Austrian architect living in Oulunkyla, a suburb of Helsinki, said he would describe the Finns as satisfied, but that it was hard to say if they were happy. “The child has increased our happiness,” said his wife, Veera Yliniemi, a teacher. Another man from the same suburb, Janne Berliini, 49, said he was quite happy. “I have work to do,” he said. “The basics are in order.”
People in Finland also tend to have realistic expectations for their lives. But when something in life exceeds expectations, people will often act humbly, preferring a self-deprecating joke to praise, said Sari Poyhonen, a professor of linguistics at Jyvaskyla University. Finns, she said, are professionals at keeping their happiness a secret.
This year’s report received little attention in the Finnish media. “Finland is still the happiest country in the world,” began a short article published on page 19 in Ilta-Sanomat, a daily newspaper.
All of the top 10 countries – including the other four Nordic countries – have different political philosophies than the United States, number 14 on the list, behind Ireland and ahead of Canada. A lower level of happiness in the United States could be caused by social conflict, drug addiction, lack of access to health care and income inequality, Dr. Wang said.
Things in Finland are far from perfect. Like other parts of the continent, far-right nationalism is on the rise and unemployment is 8.1%, higher than the EU average of 7.5%.