Poll ranks South Ostrobothnia happiest, Satakunta least happy

People in South Ostrobothnia reported the highest life satisfaction in Finland, while those in Satakunta reported the lowest, according to a survey commissioned by Municipal Finance and reported by Yle. The differences between regions were small and fell within the survey’s margin of error.

Respondents rated their satisfaction with their own lives on a scale from one to 10. South Ostrobothnia had the highest average score, at 7.67, followed by North Savo. Satakunta had the lowest average, at 6.94, followed by Kanta-Häme.

In the comparison of cities, respondents in Pori, Kajaani and Rovaniemi reported the lowest levels of happiness. The highest scores were recorded in Espoo, Kuopio and Kauniainen.

More than 2,000 people from all 18 regions of mainland Finland took part in the survey. Its margin of error was 2.2 percentage points in either direction, meaning that all differences between the regions fall within the margin of error.

This was the first time Finnish happiness had been examined through a region-by-region survey, according to Municipal Finance.

Survey offers broad indications only

Mari Tyster, a director at Municipal Finance, said the results should be treated as indicative. She said the number of respondents was not representative of the whole country, but was large enough to support conclusions at a general level.

According to Tyster, the main finding was that Finland is not divided when it comes to collective happiness. People across the country reported similar experiences of positive Finnish happiness.

The survey also asked respondents to rate the importance of 12 factors to their happiness. The most important were the freedom to make their own choices, health and a sense of security.

Nature was considered very or fairly important to their happiness by 93 percent of respondents.

Tyster described Finnish happiness as practical rather than exuberant, consisting of stability in everyday life and the structures provided by the state and municipalities that support society.