Why freezing European countries are ranking happier than Australia

What makes us happy, and why are some places in the world seemingly perennially cheerful — and more so than others? For the eighth year in a row, Finland was this week named the world’s happiest country, with other Nordic nations Denmark, Sweden and Iceland also near the top of the list — again. Australia slipped just out of the top 10, to 11th place, just above New Zealand in 12th. Though Australia boasts seemingly endless sunshine — especially compared to the handful of hours Scandinavian countries deal with daily each winter — measuring happiness goes beyond mere mood. “Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” explained Jon Clifton, chief executive of report authors Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other. “The simple belief that others will act with honesty and decency contributes to greater overall life satisfaction. Trust in others is a happiness multiplier.” Overall the UN-backed report this year found people are much kinder than is generally expected. Nearly one in five young adults globally reported having no one they could count on for social support — a 39 per cent jump compared to 2006 — but researchers suggested young people could look to rely on strangers if needed given many countries reported strong benevolence. But this year for the first time, none of the world’s major industrial powers made the top 20. The US tumbled to 24th, its lowest ever position since the report began in 2012, while the UK at 23rd was at its lowest since 2017. What is measured and why? The index asks a single question, asking people to imagine a 10-step ladder and then place themselves on a rung that represents where they stand on a scale of their best possible life to worst possible life. It also assesses responses in each country to social situations — such as the perceived and actual return of lost wallets, how often and regularly people eat alone and how many people live in their home. The report authors argue that by asking the single question, people are empowered to make their own judgments about what matters most. The question also does not refer to happiness, wellbeing or satisfaction, which they say allows it to be easily understood and translated in different languages. They also argue that the measure of eating solo is “observable” and objective, whereas questions about how close you feel to family or friends or how many close relationships you’ve experienced is not. Shared meals is cross-cultural and more objectively comparable over time. GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and freedom of corruption also influence the standing of each country. Why does this matter? Gallup experts argue that though important, traditional economic measurements such as household income, unemployment and gross domestic product — or the size of an economy — do not really tell decision makers and political leaders anything about how people feel. It’s entirely possible to have an extremely effective economy but for the people who make up that economy to be downbeat. Gallup cites Arabic countries where GDP increased ahead of uprisings but residents’ view of their lives was heading down. “Happiness can change, and does change, according to the quality of the society in which people live,” chief report editor John Helliwell, a senior fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, said. He elaborated to CNN: “Look seriously at the people with whom you are working, with whom you are living, who are on your streets, and put on a rosier set of glasses when you’re dealing with them. And that’ll change your behaviour in traffic. It’ll change your behaviour in political discussions. It’ll change everything.” This year the report authors homed in on how caring and sharing affect people’s happiness. Likening it to “mercy” in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, they described caring as “twice-blessed” — it blesses people who give and people who receive. Worldwide, people were too pessimistic about the honesty and benevolence of others, they said, looking closely at what happened when their researchers dropped wallets in the street to test strangers’ responses. “The proportion of returned wallets was far higher than people expected. This is hugely encouraging,” they noted, adding that our general underestimation of people’s kindness meant a positive surprise could actually help to improve our well-being. Additionally, a more benevolent or giving society is thought to predominantly benefit people who are least happy. Benevolent acts are still about 10 per cent above the levels recorded pre-pandemic, despite a fall between 2023 and 2024. Eating alone — and the mood boost from sharing a meal with other people — was also a major focus. Report co-author Alberto Prati, an assistant professor in economics at University College London, said there were higher levels of wellbeing in countries where sharing a meal was common but that was also true when comparing people within the same country. And among those who always dined alone in Australia, New Zealand and North America, the impact of starting to share most of their meals — at least eight times a week — delivered a boost to life evaluation as large as doubling their income, he said. “Of course, those who share more meals can differ in many other aspects, but even when we take into account characteristics such as gender, age, income, living alone and people’s ability to meet basic needs for food, the relationship between sharing meals and wellbeing still holds strong,” Assistant Professor Prati wrote in a piece for The Conversation. The concerning detail in recent data was that with every passing year, Americans were more likely to eat alone with every passing year — and these days, 18-to-24-year-olds are 90 per cent more likely to eat every meal alone than their counterparts in 2003. “Americans who eat at least one meal with others report higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress, pain and sadness on that day,” he added. “In a world where loneliness is increasingly recognised as a public health issue, rethinking how we gather around the table, and how often, could provide practical solutions to reduce social isolation and raise wellbeing.” How does Australia stack up? Overall ranked 11th, Australia’s worst performance was on the “helped a stranger” measure, coming in 39th, but performed best on your wallet being returned by a neighbour, at 7th. Of 147 countries ranked this year, Australia came in 20th for donating to charity or strangers, 34th for volunteering, and 12th for wallets being returned by police and 14th on it being returned by a stranger. Australians were also more likely to eat dinner with other people than their lunch, the wellbeing of those who ate alone notably lower than those who commonly shared. “Prosocial” behaviour — or actions intended to help others — also fell in the latest report. What can be learnt from the happiest countries? Theories about why the happiest nations constantly top the charts vary, but many point to Finland’s equitable school system. Children are most likely to attend their nearest school, while homelessness is lower and the health system has waiting lists of just days. Finnish bodies like Business Finland and Visit Finland also point to a generally low-stress lifestyle, where people are never more than a 10-minute stroll to a park or forest. “In a well-functioning, fair and equal society, people can worry less and concentrate on living their lives,” applied psychology researcher and author Elisabet Lahti explained last year. “Poor life decisions or bad luck don’t necessarily have to mean falling too far behind. “To feel safe is one of our primal needs and if we’re not safe, we’re not able to relax into co-creation and innovation.” Other analyses of why Finnish society stands up so well suggest a general openness to emotional variance — that responding “I’m not OK” to “how are you” is accepted — as well as an overall trusting society and work-life balance as a priority. But Finnish experts also emphasise the World Happiness Report actually measures contentedness — whether people are satisfied with their lives. “Culturally in Finland, happiness doesn’t need to mean that very intense emotion of happiness,” MIELI Mental Health Finland strategic affairs director Meri Larivaara told The Huffington Post. “Our concept is more like (a) constant feeling of being content with your life” and what you have.” Mr Clifton said the report again proved the value of a happy society. “People who help others and expect kindness from others are happier. And at a time when benevolence is waning, we need it now more than ever,” he said. “A happier world might be simpler than we think: Choose kindness. Give generously. Trust more. Our happiness — and the happiness of those around us — depends on it.”