Scotland must learn from sickly nation that transformed itself into happiest on Earth

As libraries in Scotland close, Helsinki's Oodi library is a high-tech reminder of their importance (Picture: Emmi Korhonen) | AFP via Getty Images

What have the Finns ever done for us? Apart from Nokia phones, saunas, ice skates, Angry Birds and texting, just what has Finland given the world? A general sense of inadequacy is the most obvious answer.

From education to social security and health outcomes, we’re always being told we can learn from Finland. But can one country really be that good? I’m just back from a visit to Helsinki and the answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

Even the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians look like louche and degenerate slackers compared to the Finns who have turned around appalling health statistics to become the happiest country in the world, five years in a row.

Exercise and better diet

It didn’t used to be this way. In the 1970s, Finland had some of the worst rates of heart disease in Europe but then a comprehensive public health intervention programme was launched to tackle this by incentivising people to stop smoking, exercise and improve their diets.

Contests were organised to find the healthiest places and the healthy mantra was pushed on primetime TV. Fifty years on, cardiovascular heart disease has fallen by 82 per cent and Finns are some of Europe’s healthiest people.

Also, highly transparent government means Finns accept high rates of taxation because they can easily see where the money is being spent on health, education and social care. They even have a national fund where you can apply for a grant to build a swing park, plant an orchard or do anything for the greater good.

Robot library

This week Aberdeenshire Council announced plans to shut 13 libraries. In Helsinki, they’ve opened the Oodi library at a cost of 98 million euros. I wandered through it last week and marvelled at the 20,000 books, two cafes, living trees, recording studios, gaming booths, rows of musical instruments, sewing machines, skateboards and 3D printers, all available for rental. They even have robots to put items away.

That commitment to knowledge and learning is admirable but it doesn’t necessarily make people happy, especially when the winters are bitterly cold and you share an 800-mile border with Russia, which owned Finland until 1917 and would probably like to do so again.

What seems to make the Finns so content is the space they have to live their lives. Work/life balance is something they practise rather than just talk about. Just about everything is shut on a Sunday and Mondays are also quiet. Bakeries and cafes that could be packed are instead closed because the owners want the time off.

‘Mokkielama’

And what do they do with that? Well, they go to saunas where the health benefits are matched by the psychological advantages of social time spent together away from screens.

They also spend much more time in the countryside with many families owning tiny huts where they can spend time together and relax. They even have a word for it: ‘mokkielama’, meaning slow living and reconnecting with nature.

It’s always interesting to see how other people live their lives, especially when we are not that different. As northern European nations with similar climates and demographics, Scotland and Finland share many of the same challenges and opportunities.

So if we want some inspiration for improving life here, the happiest nation in the world is a pretty good place to start.