Discovering Finland: The World's Happiest Country
How much do you know about Finland? For six years in a row this country in northern Europe has been ranked the happiest in the world. Let's find out more about it!
Finland is quite a young country. It was part of Sweden from the 12th century until 1809, when it became part of the Russian Empire — and it only became an independent country in 1917.
Finland has two national languages: Finnish and Swedish, but almost 90% of the population speak Finnish as their first language. And the language has some unusual words.
Vahingonilo ("VA-hing-on EE-lo"), for example, means enjoying someone else's bad luck. And kalsarikännit ("KAL-sari KAHN-it") means getting drunk in your underwear.
The far north of the country, called Finnish Lapland, is home to the Sami people — also known as Lapps — who speak the Sami language. This area has more reindeer (about 200,000) than people (about 180,000), and it's a great place to see aurora borealis — the northern lights.
However, because winter in northern Finland is very long and cold, most people live in the south of the country.
Finns love nature. Almost two-thirds of Finland is covered in forest, and it has 56,000 lakes. Almost one-tenth of the country is covered with water! If you love kayaking, canoeing, hiking or cross-country skiing, this is the perfect place for you!
The most popular sport in Finland is ice hockey, but Finland is also home to a sport called wife-carrying. The wife-carrying world championships are held in Finland every year, and the top prize is the wife's weight in beer.
Finns also love saunas and coffee. There are around 3 million saunas in Finland, and Finnish sauna culture has been recognized by UNESCO. Finns also drink more coffee — on average four cups a day — than anyone else in the world!
