Seeking Happiness: Are Finns Happy and Why?

Are Finns happy? What makes us happy, and what makes us unhappy? How are we affected by family, work, hobbies and earthly wealth? These are questions to which EVA’s current survey of values and attitudes is seeking answers.

The state of mind of Finns avoids extremes of happiness and unhappiness. Happiness consists of life’s everyday things, human relations, health and a safe and steady income. The key is not to aim high by dreaming of wealth or a high-ranking position.

If the citizens of Finland are right, the chances for Finland to do well in global competition are quite good. We are carried along by education, skills and technology, and there do not seem to be any real weaknesses that need remedying. Attitudes towards entrepreneurship leave something to be desired, but even they can change if barriers to entrepreneurial activity are removed.

EVA has regularly been sounding out the climate of Finnish opinion for about 20 years. The 11th part in this series provides a cross-section of national attitudes as they were in early 2005 and, together with earlier parts of the series, charts the development of Finland’s mental state from the mid-1980s. This report is in Finnish.

Attachment: 1110_onnellisuuden_vaikea_yhtalo.pdf

Kai Torvi, Pentti Kiljunen