Norway is the least happy country of the Nordic countries – and Finland tops the list

As usual, Finland tops the list in this year’s happiness assessment conducted by the United Nations. Norway ranks lowest among the Nordic countries at 7th.

As usual, the Nordic countries come first in the annual happiness ranking, and in familiar style Finland takes the top spot, ahead of Denmark and Iceland respectively.

Norway is the least happy country in the Nordic countries, ranking seventh.

– The challenges in Norway are the deterioration of the quality of life, especially among young people, and the increase in inequality, as the happiness researcher at the Institute of Public Health, Ragnhild Bang Nes, explains to NTB.

The Happiness Assessment is implemented by the United Nations, and contains ratings of national satisfaction, based on data from the Gallup World Poll.

Finland dominates

On a scale of 1 to 10, the population of Norway is 7.3. On the other hand, Finland, the winning country with a score of 7.8, gets to the top of the podium for the sixth year in a row.

Finland is well ahead of Denmark, which ranks second. There is low inequality in the country and fewer differences in quality of life compared to Norway, and at the same time citizens enjoy secure social welfare programmes. Perhaps the Finns are more modest, with lower expectations of us, which generally means they settle at the top of the list, Bang Nes explains.

Norway is generally expected to be high on the happiness scale, says the FHI happiness researcher, but in recent years there has been a downward curve.

– It’s a little worrying that Norway has had a downward trend. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that there have been stable times in Norway for many years, but in recent years the citizens have encountered more resistance than they are used to.

Pang Ness believes the negative trend could be partly due to a deterioration in the quality of life among young people during and after the pandemic, tough economic times, increased work-life uncertainty and inequality in the population.

– In Norway, we have also achieved sustainable positive development in many areas in recent decades, not least in terms of prosperity. We are probably less prepared for today’s challenges in this country than we are anywhere else.

Ukraine scores low

Ukraine comes in 92nd place this year. The deterioration in the quality of life is significant and of course has a clear relationship to the war in the country, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, as Pang Ness explains.

The data was collected from Ukraine last September, after the war broke out. The ranking itself uses numbers for the period 2020-2022.

– I suppose we may see a larger impact in a negative sense in Ukraine next year. Trust in national authorities has grown in both countries in 2022, but it has increased much more in Ukraine than in Russia, Pang Ness says.

The researcher believes that a strong sense of unity and trust in the authorities within Ukraine has a positive effect on the success rate.

Despite the scale of suffering and damage in Ukraine, life ratings in September 2022 were higher than they were in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. This may reflect a stronger sense of common goals, unity, and confidence in the country’s leadership.

Afghanistan is at the bottom of the list

War-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Lebanon rank at the bottom, along with Sierra Leone.

– Unfortunately, too many residents of these countries are generally unhappy. It has a natural connection with the fact that these countries are characterized by war and misery, and have been for a long time.

At the bottom of the list is Afghanistan, with a score of 1.9. In general, countries south of the Sahara and war-torn countries are low on the happiness scale.

– It’s heartbreaking to see that people in countries at the bottom of the list are constantly suffering from life getting more difficult. It’s a development going in the wrong direction, she says.

European countries dominate the first list

Eight of the top ten countries on the list are European, with the exception of Israel and New Zealand.

European countries, especially the Nordic countries, do very well in terms of what most people need. In most European countries, citizens’ basic needs are met, including psychological needs such as safety and freedom.

Finland and Denmark have been at the top of the international rankings for the past six years, with higher average scores, while Norway, as the only Nordic country, has fallen somewhat lower in the international rankings for a few years.

Countries with a high level of trust in both other citizens and the authorities generally score high on the happiness scale. It also mirrors this year’s list, explains The Happiness Researcher.

The list ranks 137 countries

The World Happiness Report (WHR) has been published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Network every year since 2012.

This year’s Happiness Report ranks quality of life in 137 countries.

Almost 1,000 people from every country take part in this survey each year, and they are asked to rate various aspects of their quality of life.

(© NTB)