Francesca Rudkin: What we can learn from the World Happiness Report

Did the news yesterday that the economy had grown more than expected, by a whopping 0.7%, put you in a good mood for the week?    Maybe the news that Fonterra has reported an 8% lift in first-half net profit to $729 million put a spring in your step.  Or the opportunity to grab a bargain in the Afterpay Sales this weekend is putting a smile on your face.  Or maybe none of these things had an impact on your happiness.    According to the World Happiness Report, published yesterday by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth – it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back.   It's not a huge surprise; Finland is the happiest country in 2025, for the 8th year in the row.    Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden came in at 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and Costa Rica and Mexico both ranked in the top 10 for the first time. New Zealand came in at 12th, between Australia and Switzerland.    I tend to roll my eyes every time we compare New Zealand to a Scandinavian country – we make constant comparisons due to population size, but we are different countries with different resources and rarely follow their lead. But it is intriguing to look at why Finland, with its dark, chilly winters and border with Russia, is such a happy place.    According to the managing director at Gallup who partnered on the study, the reason Finnish people are happier than most is because of “a belief in others,” optimism for the future, trust in institutions, and support from friends and family.    Does any of that feel familiar to us right now? 12th for New Zealand feels about right, I think. Between 2016 and 2020 we were 8th, and we’ve been slowly slipping down the list since 2021.   We all know health and wealth are not solely responsible for happiness, but they play a part. The less you have to stress about, the more you can focus on being happy. But the study has turned up some unexpectedly strong predictors of wellbeing. Sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support, and household size all play a part. Basically, social connection is key to happiness in this era of social isolation and polarisation.    This applies particularly to young adults – the study found 19% of young adults across the world reported in 2023 that they have no one they could count on for social support. That is a 39% increase compared to 2006. It may of course be a hangover from the pandemic, or more likely the consequence of giving our lives over to devices and social media.   The Harvard Study of Adult Development —the famous 80+ years study into happiness— has already established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. So, this revelation about social connection isn’t new news, but it’s an important reminder for us all to put our phones down, sit up at the dinner table, and have a chat.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.