Finland has been named the happiest country on this planet for seven years in a row due to its robust social welfare system and policies resembling generous parental leave.
But some of the comprehensive Annual Expat Surveys The country has just dropped within the rankings from sixteenth place last 12 months to 51st place in 2024.
So why is there such a spot between happiness rankings and expat satisfaction?
Expats find the happiest country on this planet is one in all the worst places to live
In the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations – a worldwide networking and advice site for expats – Finland got here third from last this 12 months, beating only Turkey and Kuwait.
sixteenth place in 2023 to 51st place in 2024
Finland’s rating plummeted rapidly.
Finland performed well within the environment category – even coming first within the air quality category – in addition to within the digital life category, which incorporates online government services and the supply of card payments.
But many other points of life within the country pose problems for expats. It is taken into account some of the difficult places to learn the language, which negatively impacts friendships and profession opportunities.
One Estonian expat said: “Even if the company language is English and the position can only be filled in English, companies still require applicants to have near-native Finnish skills.”
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The country scored very poorly by way of profession opportunities and job security. “Local job opportunities for expats are poor and often discriminatory,” commented one expat from the UK.
When it comes to creating friends, expats described Finns as “not tolerant of foreigners” and “too narrow-minded.”
Several comments pointed to racism. One Greek added that he had experienced “nepotism and highly problematic situations on a daily basis”.
When it comes to creating friends, expats described Finns as “not tolerant of foreigners” and “too narrow-minded.”
While Finland ranked sixteenth within the 2023 expat rankings, previous years show that a medium to low rating is definitely the norm for the country.
Kathrin Chudoba, Marketing Manager at InterNations, says that many individuals move to Finland to affix a Finnish partner, not necessarily for their very own profession prospects or desire to live there.
“I imagine that these people, who may not have a clear career path when they move, could be hit particularly hard by a recession or difficulties entering the job market,” she says.
Poor employment opportunities can also be the rationale for the lower incomes and price of living difficulties that many expats say they experience.
“Those who are dissatisfied with their financial situation or whose disposable household income is not sufficient for a comfortable life are likely to rate a whole range of categories such as leisure opportunities or housing more negatively because they cannot afford them,” says Chudoba.
Why do expats in Finland not profit from living within the happiest country on this planet?
The World Happiness Report is predicated on questions which can be very different from the Expat Insider survey.
It uses data from a survey wherein participants are asked to consider a ladder, with one of the best possible life being a ten and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their very own life on this scale.
“How it achieves the status of the ‘happiest country’ is a mystery to me”
Comment from a Brit within the expat survey.
Chudoba says that the Expat Insider survey, then again, focuses on concrete and “practical” experiences. She adds that asking the population basically or expats particularly will produce very different results.
“Expats always compare their current location with their home country or other places they have lived,” she says. “Especially in the case of Finland, the aspects that most people didn’t like were all very expat-specific reasons, such as language skills or the hospitality of the locals.”
So, although expats theoretically have access to all of Finland’s services and advantages, the special difficulties that include living there as a foreigner mar the experience.
One Brit commented within the expat survey: “How it can achieve the status of ‘happiest country’ is beyond me.”
