It's been looked at closer before, but the questionnaire doesn't really ask "how happy are you" it's more "how dissatisfied are you".

Finnish welfare policies mean people here tend to have less complaints. That doesn't mean none, but when it come to a lot of common problems (which the questionnaire specifically targets) like unemployment, healthcare, education, homelessness, debt, we have policies in place that mean they aren't something people generally worry about. Individual people to whom it might be relevant, do.

And that's not to say the policies are flawless and there aren't traps that will screw you... What they do do, is provide a real sense of security that means people don't live their lives in fear of losing what they have. We can be unafraid that some sickness or accident will come along and completely ruin our lives.

I don't personally know anyone who has been ruined by an injury, losing their job or debt. Set back, or had their lives changed, sure. But not ruined. Someone losing their job, their healthcare because of that, then their home due to the debt, and falling to drugs at the end of their rope, is something most people only ever hear about.

Those problems do exist, but Finnish society is such that you almost always have some options. Stuff that ruins lives in other countries, is an inconvenience here. The threshold for random chance ruining your life is much lower.

That said, I would not rate us the happiest. As already mentioned, suicide rates are high. That's because the policies make sure you're alive, and whenever possible, able to work.

What they don't do, almost ever, is make sure you're happy. If you are miserable, that's entirely on individuals to solve. Mental care is not what it should be, and for some it is straight up harmful to engage with the public system if they need help. The state is pretty good and not killing people, except by coldly making sure you're alive, homed and employed, even as you fall apart inside.

The sad ones off themselves, goes the old joke

Also, related article:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1376114/

Compared to who? US has a higher rate than we do

I know people often joke about the suicides weeding out unhappy ones but it's not common enough to make a difference, even if we had a higher suicide rate.

Very high level of alcoholism, and a lot of darkness due to being so far north and with half the country above the arctic circle. Those are both very strong drivers of depression and suicide rates.

Overall populations who live furtherest north or south and in more rural areas TEND to have more suicides world wide and in the US .

Wtf!?