The Simple Lesson Scandinavian Countries Can Teach Us About Happiness
The World Happiness Report is misworded, but still has incredible insights to learn from.
Are you happy about your life, generally speaking? Do you have all the things you want and need?
My Danish friend loves to tout how happy people are in her country — and she has a point. Denmark consistently places in the top 5 in the World Happiness Report, finishing second in 2023 to Finland.
And though it’s demoralizing to look at this report (the US finished 15th, and hasn’t ever broken the top 10), it is hardly surprising. Despite being the wealthiest large nation, we have a list of big problems. Our lagging in these rankings flies in the face of our obsessive focus on self-improvement, and continuous growth.
But are we looking at these reports entirely wrong?
Some issues with this happiness report
First, we often assume that a statistic is all encompassing. My aforementioned friend from Denmark, despite being in such a happy nation, is currently in a funk, feeling quite depressed. Remember that a nation is a big place, with many storylines and opportunities for happiness and the lack thereof. So don’t confuse this report for meaning everyone is living in bliss.
At the core of the World Happiness Report, is a central question which is carefully worded and called The Cantril Ladder:
“Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”
It stands in contrast to so many other economic measures, such as GDP, GDP-per-capita, and urban development, as a measure of a country’s advancement. Along these traditional measures, the United States ranks quite favorably. It speaks to a gap in our country’s priorities. We get caught in the cycle of ambition, chasing the next pay raise, and never pausing to ask ourselves how happy we actually are.
Wealth isn’t the primary driver of happiness. The report suggests we are more likely to be happy when we have good health, a good social network, a trustworthy government, support, and the ability to freely choose our path in life. Citizens of “happy” nations also have access to affordable housing and opportunities to socialize safely in their cities. Quality of life was by far the greatest driver of rankings.
But, as many Americans reading this are quickly noting, many of these items have fallen laughably short in recent years. In the most recent report, the US fell to a new low at 24th. The US economy and political leadership have both soured in the eyes of our citizens. Disinformation campaigns have fomented enormous distrust and division. We still suffer from massive health issues, many of them stemming from the obesity epidemic. And healthcare is as dysfunctional as congress. Affordable housing is a joke for most of us.
Why does Denmark do so well?
One reason is the concept of hygge, the “cozy quality” that helps Danes get through harsh winters. It’s the origins of buying sweaters, hot chocolate, and various spices to make pumpkin latte’s while spending time with family in front of a fireplace.
Finland, which has been ranked #1 for six years, advertises that it's their love of nature, taking daily walks in the woods, tasting something from nature, and socializing, that injects their lives with happiness. They proselytize the value of the smaller pleasures in life.
These concepts have been heavily marketed and exported in annals of self-help literature, in attempts to monetize, and transfer these seemingly magical habits into western culture.
Many content creators have become guinea pigs of these practices, going on quiet trail hikes with their dog, picking berries they find, and filming themselves jumping into ice ponds, while turning their living rooms into cozy-core hubs. Others have build entire steam rooms in their backyard, hoping to erase the malaise and frustration of living in America.
As we try to embed these practices in our life, we often miss two key components: the structural support and cultural practices that allow happiness to proliferate.
Fins, for example, tend to produce happy people by not over-emphasizing their own happiness. They know it’s not a sustainable dimension and instead focus on contentment. Culturally, they don’t measure success by having tons of money, material belongings, and making social comparisons to others. Per professor Arto O. Salenen, of the University of Eastern Finland, “In other words, when you know what is enough, you are happy.”
This is common in Scandinavian countries with the concept of “lagom”, a Swedish and Norwegian term that means just the right amount (these countries ranked 6th and 7th respectively).
This is helped by the fact that there’s an excellent social safety net, which gives people a sense of security. They don’t feel the need to hoard money and savings.
There are also strong democratic values and freedoms given to people. They have an exceptionally free press, lower corruption, and higher trust in institutions. There’s universal healthcare that is accessible by all. If you have mental health problems, you can actually get treatment and support, rather than having to sleep on the sidewalk.
What the happiness index really measures
The title of the report is borderline clickbait, because it’s really measuring wellbeing and contentment, which is what Scandinavian countries already pursue.
Happiness is an ephemeral state, and not one that can be sustained indefinitely, outside of being mentally ill. After all, if you smile for too long, your face will eventually hurt. It isn’t a coincidence.
With Scandinavian people, there’s an embedded humility in their aspirations and mindset. They don’t set themselves up for failure by pursuing something that’s intrinsically temporary. Don’t confuse this with them having “low expectations”. They just choose healthy, realistic goals.
With contentment, they allow for the full fluctuation of human emotions, and the ability to be sad without seeing it as a psychological failure. So when they’re asked the question of how far up the 10-step ladder they are in life, they don’t envision 10 as being all that distant from their current place.
They choose to enjoy smaller things, being with family, enjoying what material possessions they do have. They live free of this very American idea of maximization from cradle to the grave. No, we can’t reasonably have the structural support that they have in the immediate future, though your political participation can help.
But you can start by embracing the coziness of hygge, a night in — and the state of contentment with lagom, practicing moderation rather than over-abundance. Be like a Scandinavian, and seize upon moments to be with friends, and enjoy the quiet of nature, free of a screen and blasting music. If it is pouring rain out, turn off your TV. Choose to read a book and enjoy the pattering of rain on your roof.
If you set your sights on perpetual bliss, you are headed for disappointment. Be like a Fin, and hope to have just enough.
I'm a former financial analyst turned writer out of Tampa, Florida. I write story-driven content to help us live better and maximize our potential.