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Finnish kids enjoy high levels of life satisfaction
The Good Childhood Report has ranked Finland second in its annual assessment of children’s happiness, life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing in Europe. This follows similarly positive results for Finnish children from global indexes elsewhere.
UK-based The Children’s Society found that Finnish children have an overall high life satisfaction score of 84 per cent, narrowly behind children living in Romania. The ranking was undertaken by sourcing the perceptions of respondents.
A similar approach was employed earlier this year to create the World Happiness Report, which ranked 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. Finland was named the happiest country in the world, once again.
The Good Childhood Report, meanwhile, is the latest in a series of country comparisons where Finnish children and the environment they grow up in have been recognised favourably by global comparison.
Earlier this year Finland was ranked third in the KidsRights Index 2020. The survey of 182 countries ranked Finnish children highly when looking at their right to life, health, education and protection. Also taken into consideration was how enabling an environment Finland provides for children’s rights. Children’s right to education, meanwhile, was the country’s top-performing indicator.
Last year, Finland was also named the third-best country in the world for children in the Global Childhood Report. This annual index recognised their access to health care, education, nutrition and protection from harmful practices like child labour and child marriage.
“It’s wonderful that Finland is still among the countries that offer the best conditions for childhood,” said Hanna Markkula-Kivisilta, secretary general at Save the Children Finland.