Why is Finland such a happy place?

DW (English)

For the seventh year in a row, Finland has been found to be the happiest country on Earth. What makes it that way? DW finds out why.

Transcript

00:00Finland has been declared the happiest country in the world for the seventh time in a row.

00:04What makes the Finns so happy?

00:06Saunas. The saunas make people happy.

00:08So people are nice and kind and they help each other.

00:11I think that's our like strength.

00:13You're safe to live here.

00:14Finnish people are just kind of casual and they don't take things so seriously maybe.

00:20What is so special about Finnish lifestyle?

00:22It's called sisu.

00:23It's sisu.

00:24Sisu.

00:25What is sisu?

00:27What does it have to do with Finnish happiness?

00:29And what can we learn from the Finns in order to live a happier life?

00:33I traveled to the Finnish capital of Helsinki to find out.

00:38Around five and a half million people live in Finland in the north of Europe.

00:42The country is known for its many lakes and forests, sauna culture, the northern lights,

00:48and a very long winter.

00:51Finland tops the list of the world happiness report 2024,

00:54while my country Germany is only ranked 24th, just behind the US on 23.

01:00It seems my happiness could use a boost.

01:03That's why I'm meeting three happiness ambassadors.

01:06They were hired by the Finnish Tourism Board Visit Finland for a PR campaign.

01:10I'm interested in learning more about Finnish happiness from them.

01:14My first mentor of the day is Lena Salmi.

01:17Hi, I'm Lena.

01:19The former sports journalist is still very active at the age of 71.

01:23Besides swimming and bouldering, she's passionate about skateboarding,

01:27something she discovered in her early 60s.

01:30Can skateboarding make me happy too?

01:33I used to skateboard as a teenager, but Lena is reminding me of the basics again.

01:39I'm also learning a few new tricks.

01:44So what's Lena's recipe for a happy life?

01:48Don't think what the other thinks.

01:51Just do things you are interested in to do.

01:54And if it doesn't work, who cares?

01:58Try another one.

01:59But don't, especially when you're a little bit older,

02:04don't stay at your home sitting on sofa.

02:08Go out.

02:09Go out.

02:11The United Nations world happiness report uses interviews

02:15to determine how happy people are in different countries.

02:18General life circumstances as well as positive and negative emotions

02:23are decisive for the ranking.

02:27Finland scores particularly well for its good living conditions.

02:30Most Finns have a decent income and benefit from a strong social system,

02:34high degrees of freedom and little corruption.

02:37Furthermore, there's a high level of trust in institutions and the government.

02:43Let's see if Finnish design can make me happy.

02:46I'm on my way to meet happiness ambassador number two, Tero Kuitunen.

02:52Art was never my strong suit at school,

02:54but as I learned from Lena, it's mainly about having fun.

02:59Okay, Tero, what are we about to do now?

03:01We are actually going to do this ceramic sausages.

03:03So that's one of my kind of most popular product.

03:06Okay, I got to warn you, I'm a little bit clumsy.

03:10Don't worry, I think we will survive.

03:12Tero is one of a total of five Finnish happiness ambassadors,

03:16so-called happiness hackers.

03:18They're supposed to give insights into the Finnish lifestyle,

03:21each of them in their own profession.

03:26Design is highly valued in Finland.

03:28For Tero, his work as a designer is about more than just aesthetics and functionality.

03:36What I love in ceramic also is kind of meditative.

03:38So you really like to meditate.

03:40It's kind of meditative.

03:41So you really like just focus on it and you don't think anything else.

03:44You are not online, you are not like looking the news or thinking what is happening.

03:50You're just focusing the one thing that you're doing with your hands,

03:54manufacturing things.

03:55And also like it can be baking, it can be like knitting, making food.

03:59And you actually make something that from the start to the end

04:03and get the kind of final product.

04:05So I think that's something very fulfilling

04:08and something that makes me happy at least.

04:17Maybe it's down to one aspect of the Finnish mentality

04:20that is key to their happiness.

04:23It's called sisu.

04:24To quote Mika Häkkinen,

04:26it's basically having the **** to go fast in a corner.

04:30It's just like the mentality to kind of get through things, whatever happens.

04:34Like an attitude that you are not going to give up,

04:38but you just keep going and good things will come.

04:41I hope good things await me at my last stop of the day.

04:45I'm meeting up with happiness hacker number three,

04:47chef Luka Balac.

04:54He runs three restaurants in Helsinki with two business partners.

04:57Besides good food, they focus on sustainability and a zero waste approach.

05:02Like here in the Elm restaurant.

05:04It offers Mediterranean and seasonal cuisine.

05:08And how can he make people happy as a chef?

05:11Cooking for me means bringing families together

05:14or people that you like around one table.

05:18And that means generating happy memories together.

05:22So definitely food has a high impact on happiness.

05:31At the end of the day,

05:33at the end of the day,

05:34happiness is very subjective and can be found in many different ways.

05:38As I learned today, staying true to yourself, pursuing your passions

05:42and sharing good moments with others are some of the keys to a happy life.

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