Cover Finland maintains its title as the happiest country on Earth (Photo: Unsplash)

The Scandinavian country has held top spot as the happiest country on Earth for four years and counting

Finland was once again named the happiest country in the world by the United Nations World Happiness Report. The Scandinavian country has held the title for four years and counting due to the community’s outstanding ability to maintain a sense of inner happiness despite external circumstances.

“Finnish happiness isn't skin deep and immediately visible—it's deeply ingrained in our being. Sustainable happiness is our superpower, and it means we tend to take life as it comes—a trait that is helping us through these challenging times,” Heli Jimenez, senior director of international marketing at Business Finland shared in a press release in response to the latest World Happiness Report publication.

The World Happiness Report is an annual publication conducted by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative for the United Nations, which selects different criteria and themes to help rank the happiest countries each year. Of course, the past year was a little different than years past, with countries unanimously ranking happiness lower due to the effects of the lingering global pandemic.

“Our aim was two-fold: first, to focus on the effects of Covid-19 on the structure and quality of people's lives, and second, to describe and evaluate how governments all over the world have dealt with the pandemic,” the report explained. “In particular, we try to explain why some countries have done so much better than others.”

And while certain countries topping the list may have suffered more significantly throughout the pandemic, the report still found that a country’s ability to foster a positive mindset despite external circumstances was the driving factor behind collective happiness; something that Finland and neighbouring Scandinavian countries have been praised for on a global scale.

“We appreciate the small things in our daily lives, such as sitting quietly on a bench and staring at the empty lake after a relaxing sauna session or taking a morning dip in the sea before starting the working day,” Jimenez said of Finland’s ability to foster internal happiness.

Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and The Netherlands followed Finland in the list of the world’s happiest countries. The only country outside of Europe that cracked the top 10 was New Zealand, which landed ninth on the list. For the full report, visit the official World Happiness Report website.

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