Five Fascinating Facts About Finland

Some important things to know about this small Nordic nation

A cartoon of Finland’s longest serving president (1956–1982) Urho Kekkonen. Image source.

I have lived in Finland for eleven years, after moving here aged twenty four. I’d like to share five fascinating facts about Finland which go beyond sauna , sisu and Santa Claus.

1. Finland is the Happiest Country in the World

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the United Nations World Happiness Report for four years running, in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

But before you pack your bags to move here, ‘happy’ doesn’t mean jumping for joy. The ranking actually measures ‘subjective wellbeing’ — a person’s own satisfaction with life and feelings of safety (but that’s not as snappy and headline-grabbing as a ‘Happiness Report’ is it?).

Finns are happy on the inside. You won’t see people walking around with big smiles on their faces or hugging each other.

From the Finnish Nightmares comic series by Karoliina Korhonen. Image source.

From the Finnish Nightmares comic series by Karoliina Korhonen. Image source.