Most of the happiest countries in the world are in Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland and Norway occupy the top three seats in turn, and Sweden ranks seventh. Superpower USA ranked 11th on the list, while China ranked 112th.

Why are Nordic people so happy

In the 1th century, several Danes were visiting a river in France, and a messenger on the bank of the river asked them, "What's the name of your leader?" "There is no leader," they replied. "We are all equal."

In April p>212, the United Nations and the Earth Institute of Columbia University jointly released the World Happiness Report. The report puts forward a set of national happiness index (Bhutan's GNH Index) system as an indicator to measure the happiness of people all over the world, including stable economic income, good interpersonal relationship, high employment rate and high-quality work, mutual trust and respect for social life, physical and mental health, supporting families, good education and so on. The report shows that most of the happiest countries in the world are in northern Europe: Denmark, Finland and Norway occupy the top three seats in turn, and Sweden ranks seventh. Superpower USA ranked 11th on the list, while China ranked 112th.

why are northern Europeans so happy? The first obvious answer is that the Nordic countries are all rich industrial countries, and people's living standards are generally high. In the second half of the 19th century, the flood of industrialization hit the Nordic countries. In the 4 years before the First World War, Denmark's GNP increased by nearly 2% at current prices, Norway increased by 15%, and Sweden increased by more than 25%. After the 196s, Northern Europe became one of the regions with the most developed economy and complete welfare in the world. Since 197, Denmark has been in the forefront of the world's per capita income. In 22, Denmark's per capita GDP reached US$ 29,593, ranking sixth in the world. In 25, Norway's GDP ranked second only to Luxembourg among OECD countries, and Sweden's per capita GDP ranked fourth among European countries.

Secondly, the perfect social security system in Nordic countries. Nordic countries are typical welfare countries. Contrary to the selective policy that is only aimed at the poor after asset investigation, the Nordic welfare system is a universal social security model. Its policies involve education, housing, medical insurance, maternal and child health care, pension, unemployment relief, occupational accident insurance and other fields, covering all aspects and periods of life. It can be said that "from cradle to grave" has woven a safety net to avoid various social risks such as old age, illness, unemployment and disability. The Danish government spends 4% of its tax revenue on social welfare, of which 13% is used for education and scientific research. All ordinary schools in Denmark are free.

Social security in Nordic countries is not only extensive, but also universal. It has become a basic social right for citizens to enjoy social welfare, and the welfare state is committed to eliminating the inequality among different groups based on gender, age, class, family status, race, region and other factors. The most common benefits include old-age security, family allowance or child allowance for all families with children. The perfect social services provided by local governments in Nordic countries are one of the highlights of their welfare systems. "The midwife was on standby before you were born; After you are born, the health nurse will visit you at home; Once mom and dad return to the labor market, professional children's educators will take over to take care of you; The school dentist will provide services for 12 to 15 years from the age of three; Teachers will guide you to complete primary and secondary school courses; Nurses and doctors (some from public hospitals and some from private hospitals) provide free medical services for your life; When you lose the ability to take care of yourself, domestic workers will come to provide services such as cleaning, shopping and personal care; If you need it, you can also live in a nursing home (although there are some shortages at present). "

Therefore, welfare in Nordic countries is often more targeted at individuals than families. In traditional society, many service functions that originally belonged to families have been socialized.

A sound social service system makes housework socialized to a great extent, so women have time and energy to participate in social life, which explains why the Nordic welfare system is known as "friendly to women". Helga Heiners, a Norwegian scholar, pointed out that the development trend of "fertility going to the public sphere" is the key to the policy of being friendly to women. Different from the European model, which advocates "men are the masters outside and women are the masters inside", Nordic countries carry out the universal double-salary family support model. Through a series of regulations such as parents' allowance and parents' holidays, the concept that both parents are employees and caregivers is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Working mothers can get help from day-care kindergartens funded by public funds and are allowed to take time off to take care of sick children. In 2, 9% children aged 3-5 in Denmark were registered in day-care centers, and housewives who took care of their children at home almost disappeared. At the same time, some Nordic countries have begun to re-evaluate women's family care work. In 1992, Norway's national insurance system recognized that unpaid nursing work, such as caring for children under 7 years old, the elderly, patients and people with disabilities, was equivalent to wage labor, and added pensions to many women who had never entered the labor market.

Third, it is its policy of sustainable development that is friendly to the environment. With the process of industrialization, Nordic governments have formulated detailed land use policies from local to central governments, and taken many measures to limit the distribution areas of processing enterprises, so as to minimize the impact of industrialization on society and environment. At the same time, Nordic countries actively preserve the integrity of rural areas and protect human heritage and natural environment by establishing national parks and nature reserves. In 197s, Denmark and Norway established the Ministry of Environment respectively. In 1972, the United Nations Environment Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden. With the deepening of environmental education, the public in Nordic countries are very concerned about environmental issues and have a strong "green consciousness". Caring for and protecting nature has become a social norm. Throughout northern Europe, consumer products are labeled according to environmental standards, and eco-friendly products are represented by a swan or seal. As advocates of environmental rules, Nordic countries actively promote the concept of "sustainable development" through the United Nations. In 1983, the United Nations established the World Commission on Environment and Development to monitor the relationship among human beings, resources, environment and development on a global scale. In 1987, under the leadership of Norwegian Gro Harlem Brundtland, the World Commission on Environment and Development put forward a report entitled "Our Future Together", which triggered an international debate on the concept of "sustainable development". Since then, the concept of sustainable development has become popular in Europe and has become the dominant organizational principle in global development policies.

Finally, the Nordic deliberative democracy brings class cooperation and political stability. In the 1th century, several Danes were visiting a river in France. A messenger on the bank of the river asked them, "What's the name of your leader?" "There is no leader," they replied. "We are all equal."

This is the simple concept of equality that exists widely in the minds of the old Scandinavian freemen. From the end of 19th century to the beginning of 2th century, the establishment of modern democratic system in Northern Europe attracted worldwide attention for its steady and gradual characteristics. Due to a large number of immigrants to North America, all the economic, social and religious setbacks suffered by Nordic society were relieved. On the whole, the industrialization process is very moderate in speed and intensity, which makes it possible to adjust gradually. The class structure of the working class, the peasant class and the industrial bourgeoisie made Northern Europe finally choose the "third way" between socialism and capitalism proposed by social democracy and created a unique "Scandinavian model". Scandinavian political model is quite different from British democratic model. In northern Europe, a government with a majority of one party is a possibility, not a rule. Even during the period of majority government, such as Norway from 1945 to 1961, the governments of the Nordic countries still followed Liafatt's so-called "* * * knowledge model". The essence of Scandinavian political democracy is the public's extensive participation in the political process. Vertically, it is the participation of political parties and interest groups; Horizontally, it is the participation of local and regional governments. This kind of extensive political participation is very obvious. After the war, the number of voters in parliamentary elections in Nordic countries exceeded 8% of the national population. Compared with international standards, Scandinavian political parties and interest groups have a large number of members, high enthusiasm for participating in activities and democratic internal management, thus becoming effective tools for representing public opinion.