Finland has been the happiest country on earth for the past six years, according to theWorld Happiness Survey. Finland ranks first, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Just whyFinns are happier than the others comes down to a number of factors, including lower incomeinequality (most importantly, the difference between the highest paid and the lowest paid), highsocial support, freedom to make decisions, and low levels of corruption.      The graph below shows both happiness data and income inequality data of the surveyedcountries, each presented as a dot. The vertical scale shows    17    , the horizontal scale   17   . 

      In general, when income inequality is larger, money matters more and people are less happy.         18    Why is this? According to the World Inequality Database, the highest-paid tenth of people in Finland take home a third of all income (33%). That contrasts with the same group taking 36% in the UK and 46% in the US. These differences may not appear great, but they have a huge effect on overall happiness because so much less is left for the rest in the more unequal countries- and the rich become more fearful. When a small number of people become much richer, this is an understandable fear. Other explanations are also possible, including slight nuances of language as well as culture. There is now even the question of whether this global survey is beginning to introduce its own bias, as Finns now know why they are being asked the question (they moved even further ahead of Denmark in the most recent survey).      However, it is very likely that Finland having more equitable schools, where you are likely to get a good education whichever you choose, as well as a fairer school policy than Norway (almost all Finns go to their nearest school) might actually matter too. So too, a better housing policy with a wide variety of social housing and lower homelessness, a health service with waiting times that are the envy of the world – sometimes just being a matter of days (even during the worst years of the pandemic) – and numerous other accolades. Finland ranks first, second or third in over 100 global measures of economic and social success – better than Norway does. And it has less money overall (and hardly any oil). You could excuse the Finns a little smugness.      Why does    19    do so badly despite the income gap between its people being hardly any wider than that in Finland and Norway? One could argue that this has something to do with its divided politics. In 2022, the European parliament suggested that “Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy.” Freedom matters to people greatly, as well as freedom from fear, and that could explain also why Turkey and India have lower levels of happiness than their levels of economic inequality might predict.      So what’s the ultimate path to a happier country? The most important thing is to    20    . After that, the efficiency and equitability of social services also matter. And finally, the social, economic and political stability cannot be ignored.
【題組】17.
(A) social support； levels of corruption
(B) average happiness； income inequality
(C) freedom to make decisions； rate of homelessness
(D) levels of happiness； social equality
(E) average income； fear level