Unspoiled nature, safe towns and cities and happy & prosperous people, no matter what the parameter, Finland is always amongst the toppers.
Recently, Finland elected Sanna Marin as its PM who also happens to be the youngest PM in the world. The present coalition government in Finland is also led by women.
My party is not in government, but I rejoice that the leaders of the five parties in government are female. Shows that #Finland is a modern and progressive country. The majority of my government was also female. One day gender will not matter in government. Meanwhile pioneers. 👍 pic.twitter.com/dW8OMEOiqb
— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) December 9, 2019
Facts and statistics suggest that Finland has not only been a champion of women rights and gender parity, but also in other areas.
1. It’s the happiest country in the world.
The World Happiness Report 2019 ranked Finland as the happiest country in the world, for the second year in a row.
2. It is also one of the safest places in the world.
Year after year, Finland has been ranked as one of the safest places in the world. It falls in the lowest risk level category when it comes to crimes, violence, and transport infrastructure.
3. It has one of the best education systems in the world.
The early education system is designed around the concepts of learning through play and elementary school students have only 20 hours of classes per week. Equal access to education is a constitutional right in Finland and higher education, like basic and upper secondary, is free.
4. Finland is one of the world’s best countries for working women.
According to The Economist’s Glass-Ceiling Index, Finland was found to have the highest labour-force participation of women globally. The gender pay gap is also one of the least in Finland when compared to other countries in the world.
5. It offers 9 weeks of paternity leave to fathers.
Finland believes that fathers play a crucial role in child development and therefore, the government offers fathers 9 weeks of paternity leave, during which they are paid 70% of their salary.
6. Finland’s healthcare system is ranked among the best in the world.
Happiness of its citizens is not the only parameter that points towards their well-being. A Global Burden of Disease study also found that Finland had one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
7. Finland is one of the least corrupted countries in the world.
Finland ranked third for the second time in a row on Transparency International’s latest corruption index. The index gives higher rankings to countries where rates of bribery, diversion of public funds and other forms of corruption are perceived to be the lowest within government.
8. Air quality in Finland is the best in the world.
According to a study released by WHO, Finland tops the world in air quality statistics. This extremely good quality of air in Finland is attributed to strict environmental regulations and maybe that’s also a reason why it is also on its way to reach the goals it set under the Paris Climate Agreement.
9. Literacy rates in Finland are one of the highest in the world.
Thanks to the education system there, Finland has consistently been ranked as one of the most literate nations in the world. Apart from the reading and writing skills, Finns also ranked the highest on literate behaviour.
10. Finland tops the world when it comes to freedom of speech & expression.
Finland was ranked 1st in press freedom for 8 continuous years from 2010 to 2017. It was again ranked 2nd on press freedom in 2019 by the NGO, Reporters Without Borders.
No doubt, why the country is on everyone’s bucket list and is literally the ‘coolest’ place in the world.
