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QUALITY OF LIFE

Why are Norwegians among the happiest people in the world? 

Even though the news has been mostly depressing over the past two years, Norway's residents have remained relatively happy among all the gloom, and the country constantly ranks among the happiest on Earth. 

Published: 23 March 2022 11:57 CET
A person sat looking at a fjord.
The World Happiness Report for 2022 has ranked Norway among the top 10 happiest countries in the world. Pictured is somebody by one of Norway's fjords. Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

For the 10th year running, Norwegians have been ranked among the most content people on Earth by the World Happiness Report, a publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network that draws on global survey data from people in about 150 countries.

In the recently released 2022 edition, Norway is ranked eight globally, one below neighbours Sweden and five places behind Denmark. 

Why is Norway rated so highly? 

Happiness is subjective and inherent to each individual, meaning it can’t be measured scientifically.

“Our measurement of subjective well-being continues to rely on three main indicators: life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions”, the report said. “Happiness rankings are based on life evaluations as the more stable measure of the quality of people’s lives,” the report stated. 

Researchers used seven categories to assess each country’s contentment level: Dystopia (evaluating how much better life is in a given country in comparison to ones with bad living conditions); perception of corruption in a country; generosity; freedom to make life choices; healthy life expectancy; social support; and GDP per capita.

Overall, Norway was rated 7.365 out of 10 for happiness. The global average was 5.53 in 2021. 

Norway ranks exceptionally well- (better than its Nordic neighbours Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden) in terms of its GDP. The country also fares well in the “social support” category and the “life expectancy” one. Another area where the country excels is in the “freedom to make life choices” category. 

The country does less well in the “generosity” (as do most countries) and “perception of corruption” categories. 

Are Norwegians becoming less happy? 

In 2017, Norway was named the happiest country in the world. But since then, the country has fallen down the rankings somewhat. To make matters even more interesting is that some of Norway’s neighbours have maintained or improved their rankings. 

Finland has been named the world’s happiest country five times since 2017, while Norway has dopped seven places. 

In an analysis of the World Happiness for 2022, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) noted that quality of life among young people was of particular concern. 

READ MORE: Why are young people in Norway less happy with life?

“Of particular concern are figures for adolescents and young adults. As in other countries, the quality of life in Norway is also unevenly distributed, and there are a number of vulnerable groups,” the report stated. 

The analysis also found that Norway was falling behind its neighbours when it came to quality of life. 

“There are thus some signs that the subjective quality of life in Norway has fallen somewhat in recent years, at least compared with countries with which we usually compare ourselves,” the report noted. 

Although one thing worth pointing out is that Norwegian’s happiness overall has remained relatively stable over the past decade. Since 2012 the country’s satisfaction with life has been between 7.4 and 7.6 out of 10. 

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WORKING IN NORWAY

The biggest barriers foreigners in Norway face at work

Norway’s integration directorate has put together a report on how foreigners in Norway fit into working life as part of a wider plan to combat discrimination.

Published: 5 April 2024 12:36 CEST
Updated: 18 April 2024 11:09 CEST
The biggest barriers foreigners in Norway face at work

Foreigners in Norway are three times as likely to be unemployed, and up to 40 percent of migrant workers are overqualified for their role, according to a new report from The Directorate of Integration and Diversity.

The overview of working life put together by the directorate is part of a wider action plan from the Norwegian government to try and combat racism and ethnic discrimination.

READ ALSO: How much money do Norway’s different foreigners make?

Working life was the focus of the report from the integration directorate as it is an area where foreigners make a key contribution to Norwegian society.

“From an integration perspective, it is absolutely crucial to make it possible for immigrants to contribute their resources in various areas of society, and working life is the most important area for inclusion and integration,” the report read.

Despite the importance of work for integration, there were several areas where foreigners were much worse off than their Norwegian counterparts in working life.

Nearly half of immigrants in Norway are overqualified for their job

The report said that immigrants in Norway were much more likely than the rest of the population to experience barriers in their careers, both when starting out and when trying to progress.

Figures from the report show that 40 percent of immigrants were overqualified for their job, compared to 14 percent of the rest of the population.

“This shows that there is great potential for better use of immigrants’ skills in working life, and a need to break down barriers,” the report read.

In addition to being overqualified for their jobs, foreigners in Norway were also more likely to lose their jobs, be unemployed, or leave working life earlier.

This was partially due to working in temp positions, physically taxing occupations, and industries exposed to economic turbulence, but also due to a lack of Norwegian proficiency, a lack of relevant skills and poor health.

One of the issues with foreigners leaving their working lives earlier than their Norwegian counterparts is that they were less likely to be entitled to an old age pension in the country.

READ ALSO: Five key things you need to know about Norway’s state pension

Discrimination in the workplace is an issue for workers from overseas

The report found that discrimination prevented immigrants from entering the workplace but also caused problems once foreigners were able to land a job.

“More and more people in the population have contact with immigrants in working life, and most experience that contact as mainly positive. At the same time, one in four immigrants has experienced discrimination in the workplace, and this discrimination can occur in different forms and in different working situations,” the report read.

Norway’s integration directorate also outlined that while plenty of employers are positive about diversity within their business, very few have concrete measures to try and promote diversity.

This is despite the report also outlining that a diverse workforce could be more profitable for business through “increased productivity, lower wage costs, more exports and more innovation”.

Norwegian skills are improving, but still need work

While there were plenty of structural barriers to finding work and progressing one’s career in Norway, one thing holding foreigners back is their Norwegian skills.

While Norwegian skills were moving in the right direction, less than half of foreigners in the country had advanced Norwegian language skills (level B2 according to the European framework) after completing language training.

Lower Norwegian skills were pointed to as one reason why immigrants were more likely to be unemployed, along with low levels of formal education and qualifications, little work experience, and a lack of network in the country.

The report also pointed towards a connection with immigrants’ Norwegian skills and their health, formal and informal networks, and participation in immigration.

Women find it harder than men to find work

In almost all cases, women face more barriers to finding a suitable job in Norway than men.

Around 40 percent of female migrant workers faced barriers in finding a job compared to 34 percent of men.

This was almost regardless of the reason for moving to Norway. However, male refugees were the exception, with women with an asylum seeker background facing fewer barriers than men. Overall, refugees were the groups to face the largest barriers in working life.

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