Man compares ‘happiest country in the world’ to Britain
The American, who lives in London and describes England as “the second most miserable country in the world”, likened the country to Finland, which recently returned from Scandinavia. Sharing images of a rain-soaked British street, Kjordy took to YouTube to describe the significant differences he witnessed during his trip. “I really just came back from one of the happiest countries in the world,” he said of Finland.
Kjordy admitted that “on paper” England and Finland are “very similar”. He explained: “They both have the same grey, rainy weather, the same pessimistic, humble, quiet culture, and yet one is the unhappiest and the other the happiest.”
So where do these differ? “Everything in the UK is terrible according to people here,” he said. “Everything sucks and they [Brits] “They’re never satisfied, and I can understand why, because it sucks.”
But in Finland, Kjordy said he found that people were more relaxed about the environment around them. “In Finland, they’re not so negative, but their expectations are so low that when something turns out to be better, it’s a plus,” he explained.
To illustrate his point, Kjordy recalled a quote he heard from a Finnish man during his travels. “If you aim too high, you might fall,” he said. “Speaking is silver, silence is gold.”
He then cited one of his “favorite examples” of this outlook on life: “Even the cakes look better on the outside.” Kjordy summarized his speech as follows: “I think the only way to be the happiest country is to adopt the Finnish mentality and have very low expectations about everything. Then maybe you will be happy.”
WARNING – explicit language in TikTok video below
Earlier this year, Finland was crowned the world’s happiest country for the eighth consecutive year in the UN-backed annual World Happiness Report. The Scandinavian country’s continued success in the rankings has been attributed to factors such as access to nature, a strong welfare system and high levels of social trust.
Meanwhile, England dropped down the rankings. The UK ranked 23rd, with researchers pointing to increased political polarization and declining social trust as potential reasons for the downward trend. The 2025 report, released to coincide with the UN’s International Day of Happiness, surveyed people around the world and asked them to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10. Finland was at the top with an average score of 7,736, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
One YouTuber who is well placed to share her views is Charlotte Erika, who holds both a British and Finnish passport. “As a dual national Finn/British born in Finland and living in the UK, Finns have a different sense of social cohesion,” he explained in response to Kjordy’s clip.
He continued: “People are valued more than in the UK because there are fewer people than in the UK, probably similar to China’s mentality and how they treat their people. More people means less value to an individual.”
“Finland’s values and ethics regarding social community are why Finland is ranked at the top; although I wouldn’t say they are the happiest per se, it has the best education system and childcare system in the world, even though the metrics examined are very different from everyday life.”
Elsewhere, a Brit joked: “The problem with the UK is that our expectations are already low, but somehow we’re still disappointed.” Another noted: “It’s also very British to not overdo things. Even when we’re happy we just say everything’s fine. If I were asked in a survey if I was happy with X, Y and Z, I’d probably mark myself a few points lower than reality so I don’t feel like I’m bragging!”
