By: Baraka Mboya
Finland has been named the happiest country by the World Happiness Report for the fourth time. The UN- sponsored report asked people from 149 countries to rate their own happiness and also used factors such economic strength, social support, life expectancy, freedom of choice and generosity to rank the countries.
From the report, Nordic countries appear top of the list, while war hit countries and few Sub-Saharan African countries appear at the end of the list.
What makes Finland the happiest country?
The Finns hot and steamy saunas. With an estimation of 3.3 million, there are enough steam rooms for one per person.
Their love for metal rock bands with the most popular being HIM, Nightwish and children of Bodom.
Moreover, Finland’s wild reindeer, the Northern light and if lucky, Santa Claus, are both a tourist and local attraction.
American teacher Brianna Owen commented on Finland’s state of happiness and said, “I think everything in this society is set up for people to be successful, starting with university and transportation that works really well.”
Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland were also on the top five, while Togo had the biggest gain, moving 17 places up. From the report, Burundi is the least happy country to be in.
The study also found that the happiest countries also had the happiest immigrants. “The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born,” said John Helliwell, co- editor of the report.
The average result is the country’s score ranging from Finland’s 7.6 to Burundi’s 2.9. The report also uses statistics to explain why one country is happier than another.