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Finnish people top happiness study - 14th April 2025

The happiest country in the whole world is Finland, for the eighth year in a row, according to the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report. It came in above its Nordic neighbours Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, scoring 7.73 out of 10.

The study, published by the University of Oxford, asks people to rate their lives on a scale of 0-10 and the annual results are made public on 20th March, International Happiness Day. The survey poses questions to more than 100,000 participants, from 140 nations, focusing on issues such as kindness, freedom to make big decisions, having someone to rely on and trust in institutions.

This year's report focused on caring for people as well, and its impact on happiness. It established that those people receiving care felt the benefits, but so did their care providers.

The study also revealed that strangers were twice as kind as people first thought. This was measured by deliberately losing wallets and then recording how many were actually handed in, compared with people's expectations. John F Helliwell, the report's original editor, said of the wallet experiment, "People are much happier living where they think others care about each other."

Jeffrey D Sachs, from the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network emphasised, "Happiness is rooted in trust, kindness and a social connection". For some, this can be as simple as sharing a meal together.

The report was first published in 2012, following a UN initiative to analyse the causes of happiness and misery. Whilst in 2013, the top 10 countries were all western, industrialised nations, now just seven are. And this year the USA's dropped to 24th, its lowest ever position, with the report revealing that since 2004 there's been a rise of 54% in the number of individuals eating alone there. So perhaps if you want to make someone happy, then invite them for dinner.