The Guardian - Travel • Jan. 31, 2026, 7:15 a.m.

For the last eight years, Finland has topped the list of the world’s happiest countries. Our writer embarks on a tour to discover their secret I’ve been visiting the happiest country on Earth every year since I was a baby.

At first glance, Finland doesn’t seem like an obvious breeding ground for happiness. In midwinter the sun only appears for two to five hours a day and temperatures can plummet to below -20C.

(It would seem a warm-year-round, sunny climate is not a prerequisite to happiness.) The World Happiness Report is based on a survey in which people rate their satisfaction with life – and the Finns have been happiest with their lot for the last eight years. Not short of marketing savvy, Visit Finland latched on to this with a “Masterclass of Happiness” advertising campaign.

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