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Why Finns Are Happier Than the Irish
There are three possible reasons Finns are more contented than the Irish.
Posted May 17, 2024 Reviewed by Tyler Woods
Finland is the happiest country, by survey, for seven years in a row. This record is impressive given challenges ranging from social media to a belligerent Russia. Ireland has many similarities to Finland, except that the Irish are not nearly as happy. Why?
The Features of Happiness-Promoting Countries
The happiest countries in the world are clustered in Scandinavia, with Denmark at number two. These countries are among the wealthiest in the world, and affluence generally translates into contentment. Ireland is wealthier than any of them but falls down the ranks of happiness to 17.
The Scandinavian countries have social democracies that reduce inequality. They do this through a well-developed welfare state supported by high taxation rates. The same is true of Ireland.
When income is unequal, members of a society feel that the deck is stacked against them.
Unequal societies tend to have low civic engagement (including voting), high crime rates, and political unrest. Each of these features makes citizens less happy. For example, a high crime rate increases fear of going out, even in those who are not crime victims themselves.
Scandinavian countries are small—not much different from Ireland in population—and smaller countries are generally happier. Big countries have big problems, whether it is pollution in China, religious nationalism in India, or gun violence in the U.S. Smaller countries also tend to be more homogeneous.
“Happy” countries have several other prominent features. These include a love of nature, community engagement and social trust, and distaste for crass materialism.
Loving Nature
When it comes to promoting a love of nature the Finns are in a league of their own. In winter, they like to get out and enjoy the snow by skiing or snow-socking. In summer, most can take a month's break that is commonly spent in remote rustic cabins, living the simple life, and communing with nature.
Most doctors would agree that such downtime is good for cardiovascular health, given the opportunity for relaxation and hobbies. The mere fact of being in a natural environment actually reduces blood pressure for reasons that are not well understood.
Because they love nature so much, the Finns are far ahead of others in fighting climate change and are working on plans to achieve carbon negativity, or practices that counteract the carbon output of other countries.
Matters are very different in Ireland, where green policies often grudgingly follow European mandates and where green politicians win minimal support. Ireland has the worst carbon footprint of the European Community countries, reflecting a relative lack of forests. Otherwise, there is a love affair with large, powerful cars and an addiction to foreign travel. Wilderness areas in Ireland are beautiful but less frequented than the Finnish wilds.
Community Engagement and Social Trust
We trust people if they earn our trust. This means that most people behave with impeccable honesty in respecting the property of others, for example. This conclusion emerged from “dropped-wallet” experiments wherein wallets are deliberately left on busy streets to investigate how many are returned to their owners. In Finland, an astounding nine-tenths of the wallets were returned.
If people are scrupulously honest, then social trust is high. Consistent with this impression, crime rates are very low. Where most people are honest and trustworthy, a person can let their guard down and one can address complete strangers as though they were friends. This makes for cohesive communities that pull together for their mutual benefit. They engage in civic activities that improve the quality of life, whether it is running community fairs, joining a community theater, or collecting money for good causes.
Ireland generally has strong local communities and high social trust, but city life is marred by congestion, housing scarcity, extremist political agitation, and violent organized crime. Basic services like public transportation and healthcare are often stretched thin.
In rural areas, people still talk to complete strangers, indicating high social trust, although local communities are vulnerable to intrusion from social media there as elsewhere.
Not Keeping Up With the Joneses
Happy communities are ones that mitigate the abrasive implications of substantial differences in wealth and social prestige. In Finland, people who are extremely successful avoid flaunting their wealth through ostentatious lifestyles. Indeed, many continue to lead modest lifestyles however wealthy they might become. Some even forgo private vehicles in favor of using public transportation.
If material success is downplayed, then each individual can be treated with more respect. Finns enjoy a cohesive society and high social trust. This ingredient is weaker in Ireland, where crime rates are higher, and where inequality is manifested in high homelessness.
So, one can point to many possible reasons that the Finns are happier than the Irish but their love of nature and personal modesty stand out.
