Another year, another report on national happiness and the Nordic countries —Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland — turn up at the top of the list. Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the fourth consecutive year as per the United Nations World Happiness Report.
The report uses data from interviews of more than 350,000 people in 95 countries. The rankings are based on how people rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale. The authors of the report said that, self-perceived evaluations are a more reliable way to explain the quality of lives all over the globe.
If this report reflects a true picture of national happiness , majority of the world population is discontent. Six areas of life satisfaction - gross domestic product per capita (GDP), social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perception of corruption levels – are used to explain most of the difference in happiness between countries. The report indicates that health and wealth are not the only criteria that influence one’s contentment. Neither does an optimum balance of these six life satisfaction factors seem to guarantee happiness; there are media reports that suggest Nordic countries' 'happy' reputation masks the sadness of young people. As per this, a significant number of youngsters in the Nordic region are ‘struggling or suffering’. Some of the Nordic countries are the biggest consumers of antidepressants. In Finland suicide is responsible for a third of all deaths among youth.
Acquiring more and more or doing more and more is not helping man in his quest for happiness. King Solomon, the wisest and the richest king of ancient Israel, lamented: “Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure…And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind”. Man yearns for new sensations and new sights; he is after new experiences, but returns dissatisfied.
Man is so created that all the world cannot bring lasting happiness to his soul. But there is hope. God can fill that emptiness in his heart. Nothing under the sun can fill the God-shaped void in man’s life, but God himself. Oh, that men would give thanks to the God for His goodness, for He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
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