Happy News of the Week: Finland Declared the World’s Happiest Country

Topping the world Happiness Index is something quite common for Nordic Countries today and as such, it is no wonder that the 2018 Annual Happiness Report saw Finland at the top. The country jumped from number five in 2017 to the top position this year, toppling Norway that came a close second.

Other countries in the list include Denmark (#2 in 2017), Iceland (#3 in 2017), Switzerland (#4 in 2017), Netherlands (#6 in 2017), Canada (#7 in 2017), New Zealand (#8 in 2017), Sweden (#10 in 2017) and Australia (#9 in 2017

Countries affected badly by war and dwindling economies are known to regularly feature in the bottom 10. Interestingly, this year’s index also featured data about the happiness of immigrants who have migrated to different countries and Finland even topped that list.

Top 7 Unknown Finland Facts:

1. There are more than 3.3 million saunas in Finland. The Finnish surely known how to take it easy!

2. Finland also has the most number of heavy metal bands per capita. Some of the famous ones being, Children of Bodom, HIM and Nightwish.

3. Finland is home to the Northern Lights and also to Santa’s Wild Reindeer.

4. The most popular exports of the country are the world famous mobile game, Angry Birds.

5. The country which is famous for introducing the Nokia brand of mobile phones to the world does not have a single payphone.

6. Like many other Nordic Countries, Finland too has a “Free to Roam” policy. This means that you can roam, camp, forage and go fishing anywhere without a worry and for free!

7. Finland imposes speeding fines based on the driver’s annual income. The higher you earn, the more you pay. One fine mega rich citizen was fined a whopping 200,000 Euros. That is a mind-boggling INR 1,59,95,400 (One Crore Fifty Nine Lakhs Ninety Five Thousand Four Hundred Rupees) as per Indian currency!

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