Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 15 March 2018

Despite cold, dark, Finland tops 2018 global happiness index

By JARI TANNER United States fell to 18th
HELSINKI (AP) — If cold place from 14th last year.
weather and a lack of sun- Meik Wiking, CEO of the
light in winter are enough Copenhagen-based Hap-
to get you down, chances piness Research Institute,
are you're not Finnish. said the five Nordic coun-
The World Happiness Re- tries that reliably rank high
port published Wednes- in the index "are doing
day put Finland at the something right in terms of
top among 156 countries creating good conditions
ranked by happiness levels, for good lives," something
based on factors such as newcomers have noticed.
life expectancy, social sup- He said the happiness re-
port and corruption. vealed in the survey de-
Finland has emerged as rives from healthy amounts
the happiest place to live of both personal freedoms
even though little sun and and social security that
low temperatures are often outweigh residents having
blamed for high rates of to pay "some of the highest
depression. taxes in the world."
"Well, our politics and our "Briefly put, (Nordic coun-
economics . I think the tries) are good at convert-
basics are quite good in In this Saturday, July 29, 2017 file photo, Finland's flag flies aboard the Finnish icebreaker MSV ing wealth into well-being,"
Finland," said Sofia Holm, Nordica as it arrives into Nuuk, Greenland. Wiking said. The finding on
24-year-old resident of Hel- Associated Press the happiness of immigrants
sinki, the Nordic country's "shows the conditions that
capital. "So, yes, we have both in overall happiness and the locally born," Helli- in 2012. In reaching No. 1, we live under matter great-
the perfect circumstances and regarding the happi- well said. "Those who move Finland nudged neighbor- ly to our quality of life, that
to have a happy life here in ness of immigrants. He said to happier countries gain, ing Norway into second happiness is not only a mat-
Finland." a society's happiness seems while those who move to place. ter of choice."
And that's not forgetting The United States was 11th
other plentiful attractions in the first index and has
like skiing and saunas and, never been in the Top 10.
for children of all ages, San- The report cited several
ta Claus. factors to explain its falling
"It's a great thing to live in ranking.
the happiest country al- "The U.S. is in the midst of
though it's snowing and a complex and worsening
we are walking in this wet public health crisis, involv-
snow," said Helsinki resi- ing epidemics of obesity,
dent Inari Lepisto, 28. "Yes, opioid addiction, and ma-
we have many things that jor depressive disorder that
make me happy." are all remarkable by glob-
This year, the annual report al standards," the report
published by the U.N. Sus- said.
tainable Development So- It added that the "sociopo-
lutions Network also evalu- litical system" in the United
ated 117 countries by the States produces more in-
happiness and well-being come inequality — a ma-
of their immigrants. jor contributing factor to
In 2015, more than a million unhappiness — than other
migrants entered Europe, countries with compara-
and a few thousand made tively high incomes.
it to Finland, a relatively The U.S. also has seen
homogenous country with declining "trust, generos-
about 300,000 foreigners ity and social support, and
and residents with foreign those are some of the fac-
roots, out of its 5.5 million tors that explain why some
people. countries are happier than
Finland's largest immigrant others," Wiking said.
groups come from other One of the world's north-
European nations, but A fan of the Norwegian speedskaters wears moose antlers when watching the men's 1,500 meters ernmost countries stretch-
there also are communities race the World Championships Speedskating Allround at the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam, ing some 1,160 kilometers
from Afghanistan, China, Netherlands, Sunday, March 11, 2018. (720 miles) from north to
Iraq and Somalia. Associated Press south, the sun does not set
John Helliwell, a co-editor for 73 consecutive days
of the World Happiness Re- during summer at Finland's
port and professor emeritus contagious. less happy countries lose." Rounding out the Top 10 northernmost point. Dur-
of economics at the Uni- "The most striking finding of Europe's Nordic nations, are Denmark, Iceland, Swit- ing the winter months, the
versity of British Columbia, the report is the remarkable none particularly diverse, zerland, the Netherlands, sun doesn't rise at all for 51
noted that all the countries consistency between the have dominated the index Canada, New Zealand, days in Lapland, northern
in the Top 10 scored highest happiness of immigrants since it first was produced Sweden and Australia. The Finland.q