Denmark is famous for being the " glad country in the globe . " Its stereotype is that of a semi - socialistic heaven where health care is free , students are pay by the regime to go to college , and the national pastime is cuddle in front of a roaring fire with a glass of carmine vino and a good book . In 2017 , Denmark was bump from the top spot in theWorld Happiness Reportby neighboring Norway , but Danes have ranked No . 1 in happiness for three of the past five years .
Nordic countries have rule the world happiness rankings since the first World Happiness Report came out in 2012 , and this year is no unlike . All five Nordic nation ( Denmark , Finland , Iceland , Norway and Sweden ) ranked in the top 10 based on six key standard : exemption , generousness , wellness , social backing , income and trustworthy governance . Even thoughGDPis eminent in the United States than all Nordic countries , Americans are still only the 14th happiest people on the major planet .
So why exactly are those LEGO - playing , pastry - exhaust Danes winning the happiness backwash ? We reached out to Helen Russell , author ofThe Year of Living Danishly : Uncovering the Secrets of the World ’s Happiest Country , to get the easy lay from a womb-to-tomb Londoner who travel to Denmark five years ago and fell unexpectedly for its stoic , comfort - loving refinement . Here are Russell ’s five reason why Danes are happier than you .
1. Danes Trust Each Other
" In sketch , 79 percent of Danes say they desire most mass . I do n’t trust 79 percent of my quick family , " jest Russell , who moved from London to Denmark in 2013 when her husband got a line of work — where else ? — atLEGO .
Where does this good sense of trustfulness come from ? Denmark ’s small population ( few than 6 million ) and cultural homogeneity have something to do with it , but the Danish good sense of trust is far - reaching , from neighbors to government . Russell says most Danes do n’t lock their auto door or front doors . She ’s catch used to delivery men just appearing in her front vestibule with a package .
Trust is n’t an unconditioned Danish trait , Russell take . It ’s taught in schools and determine through everyday interaction with trusty and responsive institutions . In " The Year of Living Danishly , " Russell speak to political scientist Peter Thisted Dinesen from Copenhagen University , who found that even immigrants from " low - trust " countries who are educated in Denmark cursorily take on Danish grade of combine . " This idea of trust is crucial , " says Russell . " You have the headspring blank to be well-chosen if you ’re not anxious all the time . "
2. The Danish Welfare State Works
Danes give some of the highestincome taxrates in the world — 45 percentage for an average Danish annual income of $ 43,000 and 52 percentage for those who realise more than $ 67,000 . But in exchange for fork over half their pay , every Dane gets liberal health care , devoid K - college education ( students are in reality yield $ 900 a month ) , extremely subsidised child care and generous unemployment benefits . In surveys , nine out of 10 Danes say they lief pay their exorbitant taxis .
" The reason behind the high level of support for the upbeat state in Denmark is the awareness of the fact that the welfare simulation turns our corporate wealth into well - being,“writesMeik Wiking , chief executive officer of Denmark’sHappiness Research Institute . " We are not paying taxis . We are investing in our high society . We are purchasing quality of life . "
If you misplace a job in Denmark , it ’s not necessarily a large passel . In fact , unemployment is built into the organisation . Thanks to something called the " flexicurity example , " employer in Denmark have a tidy sum more exemption to fire employees because there are government program to retrain doer and good position them for the job market . Russell says that strong unions also provide a guaranteed safety meshing , afford unemployment benefits for up to two years .
Denmark also has one of the most generous retirement systems in the creation , providing for the 65 - plus population through a combination of a nation - funded pension and private , employer - funded pension programs . Again , when you ’re not always worried about how you ’re going to afford your retreat , you ’re go to feel less anxious and more secure . In other words , happier .
3. Danes Work Less and Spend More Time with Their Families
" Work - animation balance " in Denmark is n’t just an HR buzzword , it ’s a way of life . Danish workers put in the second - few hour ofall Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD)countries at 1,412 hours a year . If Danes worked all 52 calendar week a yr , that would average out to only 27 hours a week , but since most Danish employers offer at least five weeks of pay holiday , Russell say that the tangible figure is tightlipped to 33 hour a week . Still , 33 60 minutes a calendar week ?
" As a family , we are gently umbrageous if my husband does n’t get home until 5:30 p.m. , " says Russell , who is on maternity leave with matching 3 - calendar month - old . " In London , we barely saw each other . "
On the issue of paternal parting , Denmark again has one of the most generous policies in the world . The government requires all employers to offer up to 52 week of parting — for either female parent or father — and the land provide pecuniary support for up to 32 calendar week .
For all of the fourth dimension off that Danish workers take , economic productivity does n’t seem to ache . harmonize toOECD calculationsof labor productiveness ( GDP per hr worked ) , Denmark ranks well above freehanded economy like Germany , Japan and the United States . Russell credits a different workplace culture .
" There ’s this idea that you work hard , get the piece of work done and then go home . Dane do n’t waste time at the office on Facebook , " Russell enjoin . " You ’re also trusted by your knob to do a good chore , so you have entire flexibleness to work from home or opt your own schedule . "
4. Danes Don’t Boast
There ’s an spontaneous law in Danish refinement calledJantelovenor " Jante ’s law , " based on a pop satiric novel from the 1930s . The emotional state ofJantelovenis " do n’t act like you ’re better , smarter or richer than anyone else . "
AlthoughJantelovenhas lost some of its hold in widely distributed Copenhagen , Russell tell , it ’s still very much go by average Dane ( you might even argue that being " average " is the destination ) .
" Do n’t show off . No one is upright than anyone else . Everyone is adequate , " says Russell , adding that you do n’t see even moneyed Danes driving fancy car or living in ostentatious houses . " People also dress quite intimate ; I have n’t seen a tie in twelvemonth . "
Not only are there fewer outward star sign of success or struggle , but bankruptcy in Denmark is n’t a four - letter word , Russell says . Because Danes are afforded such a strong prophylactic cyberspace , there is n’t as much financial jeopardy in unsuccessful person , so people experience spare to try new things . If it does n’t work out , no grown loss .
5. Danes Live Hygge-ly
To really see what makes Danes ticking and why they ’re so darn well-chosen , you have to understandhygge . Pronounced " hyoo - geh , " it ’s the near - religious Danish belief in live only and " cosily " surrounded by home and friends . Russell say thathyggeis more than just crackling forest fires and full - consistence pajamas , it ’s anything that brings you inscrutable , someone - warming pleasure . That could be portion out a meal with booster , reading the Sunday composition , or yes , playing with LEGOs .
Russell says that Danes are " staggered and bemused " thathyggehas become a trendy self - avail fad . A quick lookup on Amazon shows more than a dozenhygge - themed record book promising to reveal the Danish mystery to felicity . Sounds like the double-dyed read for that roaring fire .
