The people of Ireland are not happy. Well, they are not as happy as they used to be, and honestly, who can blame them? From rising levels of homelessness to the ongoing healthcare and immigration crises, people have a lot to deal with.
Of the happiest countries in the world, according to the latest World Happiness report, Ireland sits in 17th position, down three places from 14th last year. By next year, it’s possible that we will have slipped out of the Top 20.
Finland, meanwhile, couldn’t be happier. In fact, for the eighth year in a row, it’s the happiest country in the world.
According to a recent, rather gushing CNBC piece in the US, Finland is a great place for women. The author of the piece suggests that other high-ranking places on the World Happiness report – like Finland’s neighbors, Sweden and Norway – are also bastions of gender equality.
They’re not. In all of the above countries, intimate partner violence rates are considerably higher than in other less “happy” places – like Ireland, for example.
In Finland, as the most recent Gender Equality Index notes, more than half (53%) of women who have been in a relationship have encountered violence from an intimate partner at some point in their adult lives. Overall, 34% of women have faced physical violence (including threats) or sexual violence, whereas 50% have endured psychological violence.
Moreover, approximately half of the women in Finland who have been employed have encountered sexual harassment in the workplace. In all of the other Nordic nations (Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), women regularly find themselves the victims of abuse —- hence the term the ‘Nordic paradox’.
So Finland might not be such a happy place for women — or anyone at all, for that matter. In fact, despite its reputation for contentment, the country faces significant challenges in terms of mental health. Particularly concerning is the high suicide rate, especially among its younger population. In fact, out of the 44 countries in Europe, Finland has the highest proportion of individuals under the age of 25 who succumb to drug overdoses. Shockingly, nearly 30 percent of drug-related fatalities in 2022 were individuals aged 25 or younger. Additionally, Finnish drug users, on average, have a life expectancy that is 10 years shorter than users in other European Union countries.
Furthermore, there has been a notable increase in the number of Finns experiencing depression and anxiety, contributing to Finland having one of the highest rates of antidepressant consumption worldwide (Other Nordic nations also struggle with crippling rates of suicide, antidepressant usage, and drug overdoses. Sweden, it’s important to note, is also overrun by violent gangs and countless car bombings.)
The previous point is particularly significant considering Finland’s extended periods of darkness during the winter months. The lack of sunlight during this time has been strongly linked to poorer mental health. Given these circumstances, it becomes difficult to comprehend how Finland can be regarded as one of the happiest country in the world’.
This brings us back to the happiness report, which is flawed in more ways than one.
The report measures GDP per capita, which is a great metric for measuring economic progress, but a rather useless one for measuring happiness at the individual level. As Dr. Daniel Benjamin, a scholar who has devoted many years to investigating the fundamental components of a truly fulfilling life, has noted, the rise in GDP per capita is closely linked to excessive consumption and production, benefiting only a small segment of society, while also diminishing our leisure time — you know, the thing that actually makes many of us happy. Also, under this framework, wars may be perceived as positive events, benefiting companies dedicated to profiting from people’s literal pain.
In short, a high GDP per capita does not ensure that individuals lead happy or fulfilling lives — yet it remains a key component of the World Happiness report. Furthermore, Benjamin and his colleagues have demonstrated that the standard survey questions utilized in happiness and well-being research often lead to misunderstandings among both researchers and respondents, thus affecting the accuracy of data collection and representation.
Moreover, happiness is a core emotion, one of many the average person experiences in a given day. Similar to indigestion and flatulence, it is transient. Measuring happiness is incredibly difficult, and incredibly subjective. A report dedicated to an emotion makes little scientific sense.
Importantly, the WHR is based on self-reported answers. This is problematic for a number of reasons. Self-disclosed responses tend to be inflated; participants might feel too ashamed to disclose personal information. Also, different prejudices could influence the outcomes, such as the bias of social desirability.
So, the next time you hear someone waxing lyrical about the latest World Happiness report findings, feel free to tell them to look at the bigger picture. The Happiness Charts are not conclusive evidence of genuine contentment, it seems.