By Charlene Chang
Reporter
According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Finland has been named “The Happiest Country in the World” for four consecutive years. This is due to their advanced education system, universal healthcare and overall relaxed way of living. We as a country and as individuals should follow Finland to improve our way of living.
First off, Finland receives high praise for its successful education system with a 93% graduation rate compared to the U.S. (75.5%). This is possible because Finland takes teacher preparation seriously, where almost all teachers have a master’s degree and are given a more reasonable salary. Finland also does not require large amounts of homework and instead provide more recess time for children. They believe being outside more improves focus.
Finland also provides universal healthcare to its citizens, so there is no need to worry about being in large amounts of debt to be healthy. They believe healthcare is a basic right, not a privilege. Meanwhile in the U.S., medical debt has reached up to $140 billion.
To add on, Finland culture greatly relies on stress relief. With amazing sights and various nature locations, Finland encourages to release anger and stress through nature. Frequently taking hikes and nature walks cleanses the mind, which reveals why Finland citizens are so resilient and self-reserved.
They are also known for taking equality sternly and trying hard to close the gap between the rich and the poor and between men and women. Finland has the fourth lowest poverty rate at 12% and an employment rate of 78.2%.
People may ask “Well, what about taxes in Finland?”. It is true that Finland’s tax rate is higher than the U.S with the U.S. at 39.6% and Finland at 51.6%. Despite that, Finnish residents see taxes as a positive thing. An article named, “Facts and feelings: Do Taxes make Finnish people happy?” reports a survey commissioned by the Tax Administration in 2019, “80 percent of Finns are happy to pay their taxes, 96 percent believe paying taxes is an important civic duty and 98 percent believe taxes are important for maintaining Finland’s welfare state.”
In relation to Finland, Mahmudul Islam wrote an article about his 12 months in Finland and learned that residents were “punctual”, “outgoing” and “knew to mind their own business.” He also learned that Finnish cars do not honk, making Finland sound that much more peaceful.
Living in a country where people don’t voice their unwanted opinions is somewhere I’d like to be. Although it may be difficult for the U.S. to copy Finland’s footsteps, we as individuals have the ability to mimic their way of living and create happiness for ourselves.
A person does not have to live in Finland to live such a satisfactory life. Simply just be resilient, indulge in nature, and be open-minded. Soon enough, happiness won’t seem too far away.
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