Nordic Countries Are Cold But Happy

If you live in Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, or the Netherlands, chances are your life is pretty happy. If you live in the UK, US, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, or Lebanon, chances are good that you are unhappy and feel like your life stinks. The United States, for its part, sunk to a new low for the second year in a row, coming in at 24th. The UK hits at 23rd, the lowest they’ve been since 2017. In fact, none of the major industrialized nations were in the top 20. The reason is not just the political situation, though that is a significant factor. Many people are lonely, feel trapped by their situation, and have no hope for a better future.

Someone needs to call a therapist. Quickly.

Two factors that dramatically contributed to the US ranking are finances and family. More Americans feel that they are struggling to make ends meet. The recent number of layoffs in the federal workforce and the tech sector aren’t helping anyone in that area. While unemployment numbers are still relatively low overall, the jobs that people are getting are not jobs that pay enough for a family of four. That trend is likely to continue without dramatic pay increases, sending the US happiness rank even lower.

What would help is family. One of the things that keep Nordic people happy despite all the months of snow and cold is that they don’t live alone. The study shows that the happiest people live in households of four to five people. People who live on either side of that mark are less happy. Three is too few, seven is too many. One in four US residents dine alone, an increase of 53% since 2023. While the increase applies to all age groups, people under 30 are among those most likely to be eating by themselves.

People under 30, in general, are feeling down on life in the US. “There’s been “no recovery in terms of young people’s perception,” said Julie Ray, managing editor of world news at Gallup. Instead, young people in the U.S. feel “less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices, and less optimistic about their living standards,” Ray said.

In fact, the number of young people who said they believe they have the freedom to choose what to do with their lives fell 10 points between 2024 and 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, Ray noted. This paints a “bleak picture” of perceptions of the U.S.’ future and the viability of the American dream.

Question: Is there still an American dream, or is it a nightmare at this point? Answer in the comments below.

“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection, and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.”

Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.

As an example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their lost wallet is a strong predictor of the overall happiness of a population.

Nordic nations rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets, the study found.

Overall, researchers said global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality — actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect.

Here’s a chart of the rankings provided by Axios:

Can we do better? That would seem so obvious that the question feels rhetorical. The more appropriate question might be whether we want to do better. Americans have a history over the past 50 years of being more selfish, fiercely independent, and more strongly convinced that they must be correct in any argument. As long as those conditions persist, as long as those are the traits we pass on to our children, America will continue to be an unhappy country.

Yes, ultimately we are doing this to ourselves. Maybe we don’t want to be happy. Perhaps we should ask ourselves why.