7d ago

Finland is again ranked the happiest country in the world. The US falls to its lowest-ever position

apnews.com

Here is a link directly to the report.

https://data.worldhappiness.report/table

World News @lemmy.world

HellsBelle @sh.itjust.works

1w ago

Finland is again ranked the happiest country in the world. The US falls to its lowest-ever position

apnews.com /article/world-happiness-report-ranking-finland-afghanistan-us-b41c1712448762d98fe9e4f80233c15f

17 comments

Any Finns wanna share what you think you're doing right from your experience?
it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back
That seems likely. Its hard to be happy or feel safe in precarity
- It's not that they're doing something special, it's a cultual attitude thing. Finns feel content that they have enough, and aren't upset they don't have more. They consider that to mean "happy" for the purpose of these kinds of surveys.
- Finn here. The common answer is that all sad people kill themselves here. The suicide rate is surprisingly high.
  For a more serious answer, you have to look at what the survey actually measures. There are 3 big factors in this survey.
  Social support, the people believe they will get help if they need. While healthcare system receives lots of criticism due to constant budget cuts, it's still fast and cheap enough for those who really need it. Economic security is possibly the best in the world, where you receive decent support if you're poor enough and a small apartment if you're homeless, without any preconditions.
  Freedom, the people feel like they're free to do what they want with their lives. There are both laws that protect you from things like trespassing, meaning you can walk anywhere you want in rural areas, while the police are really lenient in urban areas and don't really care what you do as long as you don't disturb others. Also in general, people don't want to bother others as much as I've seen in other countries.
  Perceptions of corruption, the people believe in the government and media. We enjoy a strong democratic system that, although not perfect, is among the best in the world. The political climate is also rather mild, with the largest party in every election being centre-left, centre or centre-right. Although the right-wing has recently been on the rise, it seems like that trend is starting to turn. As for media, the state sponsored YLE is about as unbiased as media can be, although their coverage of global events can be somewhat lackluster. Also, despite being state sponsored, they operate completely independently.
- In another community where this article was posted, a commenter who claimed to be Finn said it’s not true and that it’s the way Finns interact with the survey questions that make it seem like they are responding positively. I can’t explain it very well but you can find it somewhere here: https://sh.itjust.works/post/34737766
  
  Who do you think is the runner up that doesn't have the deficiency you're suggesting? You'd think the survey would be localized to whatever it is should understood as "happiness" however its defined for everyone else

Wow, Israelis are pretty chirpy for being in the middle of an ethnic cleansing.
- The connection is that way too many of them are thrilled about it.
- Something tells me they didn't survey a representative sample of Gazans
- Well they're not the ones being harmed

Looks like the US is 24 out of 147. It'd be interesting to see the correlation with median income, I'd bet the US is even more behind where a nation of it's wealth would tend to be be.

How the hell do you accurately measure happiness? It sounds so abstract. Also who claims the authority of deciding this? I am honestly asking out of curiosity.
- It's a self reported survey.
  Our happiness ranking is based on a single life evaluation question 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?
  This question is both democratic and universal. Rather than constructing an index from multiple metrics, the Cantril Ladder empowers people to make their own judgements about what matters most, regardless of their culture and background.
  The question does not mention concepts like happiness, wellbeing, or satisfaction, so it can be easily translated and understood in many different languages.
  
  I wonder if the survey asks people multiple times throughout multiple days. Like you ask me in the morning of a hangover I'm definitely down a few rungs compared to the night before. It would be best to know where the average rung you're on is.
  
  Ok then I'm surprised it's so high on average. Only some very bad places drop under 5

17 comments