BBC News｜芬兰连续八年获评世界上最幸福国家

Finland named the world's happiest country for 8th year in a row

Host: The UN report also named Finland as the world's happiest country for the eighth year in a row, as another of the authors, Lara Aknin, explains:

Aknin: They're often topping the list with a lot of Nordic countries. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what Finland might have in terms of some secret sauce or perfect level of predictors. But it's been speculated there might be various factors, including a strong social safety net that provides people a sense of financial support - should they need to leave their work, if they need health care, also education covered all the way from very young ages through university. But also the fact that a strong social safety net provides not just these financial resources and basic necessities, but also represents the idea that your neighbors, that your fellow countrymen are there by your side to support you.

One important thing in the report is that we try to understand the global variations in these rankings. So what helps explain the happiness differences across these countries? Some of these factors are typically beyond the reach of the average individual, like GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy which you might be able to shape with some healthy choices.

But two of my favourites to underscore are the importance of social support, so that is having someone to count on in times of need, and engaging in personal acts of generosity for other people. Both of those have been shown to be strong, independent predictors of wellbeing, and I think they're particularly powerful and potent because they're things that we can choose to engage in.

Host: Lara Aknin from the World Happiness Report.

As well as all those positives, there's another side to Finland's happiness. The concept of Sisu. The word is deeply ingrained in Finnish culture, but it has no direct translation in English. It's along the lines of inner strength, but there's more to it than that, as Stephanie Prentice has been finding out.

Prentice: From jumping in freezing lakes right after a sauna with friends to going back to basics in nature. We've heard about the benefits of the Finnish culture for promoting mental well-being, but within those happy activities lies something else, difficulty. Alongside the 2025 happiness report, officials in Finland were quick to point out that one of the secrets to happiness is embracing sisu.

It's a word and a concept that doesn't translate, literally, but it's something we're told is important to every Finn. So we asked some of them to explain. Magnus Appelberg is a cold exposure enthusiast and teaches courses in Finland, encouraging foreigners to embrace Sisu.

Appelberg: Every Finn is proud of the concept of Sisu. So it's an innate power of facing adversities.

When you have guests that may come from countries, for example, without so much of a cold climate, how do they react when you initially put them in those situations, when they're in the icy water?

Appelberg: It's a sight for sore eyes. Most people go into a state of shock. And then they slowly, by using their breath, they come out of it. And you see when their faces light up, it's like, wow, they've seen a total new world, a total new way of facing hard things.
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Prentice: For Magnus, Sisu is a skill that can be built. And for people living in urban environments, he says start the day with a cold shower.

Appelberg: You will feel the mental resistance stepping into an ice-cold shower turn the adversity into a relaxed situation. Everybody can learn that.

Prentice: Petri Kokkonen is a wilderness guide in Lapland. He gave up his easy city life to live off the grid in a remote cabin, and he says despite the hardship, he's never been happier.

Kokkonen: For me, the Sisu means more the lifestyle. I don't have a real electric system. I have solar power panels and I can't actually even use electricity in a December and it's our darkest month. But it's like I really enjoy and I love that time.



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