‘So what’s on top today?’ One of multiple ‘openers’ to appointments that I’ve test-driven over the years. All, in one way or another, attempts at cutting to the chase, skipping over the usual ice breakers of weather, the most recent episode of ________ (fill in the blank, depending on decade), news headlines. . . etc. After a thoughtful pause, the responses are often a variation on ‘been a tough week’. ‘Could you say a bit more about. . .’ an effort at putting a bit more flesh on these bones. As frequently as not, this summons up a statement of general malaise — aka, unhappiness.

With the release of the 2025 World Happiness report in recent weeks, I wasn’t surprised to see a number of op eds focussed on the topic. Now, without looking, of the 147 countries tapped, who would you expect to top the polls? Yep, once again from the 2024 data, those bastions of ice, snow, and reduced hours of daily sunlight, occupy 5 of the top 10 spots. Finland (darkest of all??) bumps that perennial home to the smiley face emoji (Denmark) down to number 2 — but hot on its heels (as it were) were Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. 

Recognizing that happiness is both an ephemeral and complex concept, the Report uses a deceptively simple strategy (Cantril’s Ladder):

• • Imagine a ladder with 10 rungs
  • The top rung represents the best possible life for you; the bottom step, the worst possible life
  • On which step of the ladder would you say your personally feel stand at this time

From the 150,000 or so annual responses and over its dozen years of study, the Report has generated six determinants of happiness that account for most (75%) of the variance — which is just an (overly complicated) way of saying: Here’s what matters most!

• • Having someone to count on
  • GDP per capita 
  • Healthy Life Expectancy
  • Freedom to make life choices
  • Generosity
  • Freedom from corruption

Ipso facto, our Nordic quintette ticks many of these underpinning boxes. 

This year’s Report has spotlighted a particular obsession of mine (and not just because of the title!): Connection. E.M. Forster’s classic, Howard’s End has as the book’s epithet Only Connect. Whether an imperative, life-advice, or just a friendly suggestion to Henry Wilcox to ‘chill’, this appears to be high up on the list of happiness correlates. Vivek Murthy, Obama’s Surgeon General, made, as a key element in his term, addressing loneliness and isolation. His book, Together made the point in it’s subtitle: ‘The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World’. 

The Report’s chapter titles pretty much capture it all:

Caring and sharing: Global analysis	Sharing meals with others (social connection)
Living with others (family bonds)	Connecting with others
Supporting others	Trusting others
Giving to others

Closer to the psychological barn, Martin Seligman proposes the following as the ‘happiness equation’ (in Authentic Happiness)

H = S + C + V

where H (enduring happiness) depends on:

• • factors out of our control (S) — about 50% of the result

• • external circumstances (C) — contributing about 10-15%
    • • living in a democracy vs. a dictatorship / autocracy
      • being married or in a stable relationship
      • having a robust social network
      • avoiding negative events / emotions
      • having a religious connection

• • voluntary, controllable factors (V) — about 40%
    • positive emotions about the past (satisfaction, contentment, fulfillment, serenity)
    • positive emotions about the future (optimism, hope, faith, trust)
    • positive emotions about the present (calm, pleasure, flow).

So in a polarized, partisan, pugnacious culture, it may make some sense to focus on the C’s (best we can) and the V’s — or, at least, sitting in a sauna with a happy Finn.