Why Denmark is the Happiest Country

today all new Hey to go to college one year maternity leave so safe babies are left outside alone Oprah on location hi who are you this with the happiest people on earth then a few weeks ago I went to Copenhagen Denmark for Chicago's Olympic bid didn't go so well for us but we did realize what a cool city it is while I was there I hung out with some locals and was just floored by how they live according to scientific researchers the folks in Denmark topped the list as the happiest people in the world and I found out why take a look beautiful Copenhagen Denmark capital city with its quaint cobblestone streets charming canal and millions of happy happy people I wanted to know what makes the game so darn happy so I met up with one of the locals Nana Norah to find out so now and I just met and you are exactly what I expected at all lean blondes is everybody in the whole country tall lean and blonde yeah pretty much oh I see some dark haired people over there oh my goodness how are we not dating some probably not Jasmine right off the bat I was intrigued by Denmark's take on marriage Nana is 44 and single I don't think it's like a little girl screams Arabic to their wedding it is not up in mine I've never been your dream I really have had that dream well because you know is such a big deal in United States you have to get married yes actually what I think in the United States is it's a bigger deal to get married than to actually have a marriage yeah yes we here buy apples bicycle festro Copenhagen is one of the world's most environmentally conscious cities a third of the population ride bikes mini with groceries and kids in tow homelessness poverty and unemployment are extremely low here if you lose your job the government continues to pay up to 90 percent of your salary for four years you're never going to be homeless on the street I don't need a man to take care of you and when you don't need a man to take care of you you're with a man just because you want to be and now you know why we're happy everything here is really designed our children have an education childcare taking care of mothers who are maternity leave I hear you get a year's maternity leave happy hour yes depending if gracious and then they go to school that's for free and as you envy those University then you could pay the whole $500 to go to university you get three and then you can see yeah it's going to patients before them anything and look if you have a healthy people because you have free health care and oh if you have a healthy people and you have free education yes then you have healthy well educated people and what can be better what can beat that educated so my Copenhagen friend Nana and steena are skyping in hey guys you again well people might be shocked to know that you happy people actually pay the highest income tax in the world fifteen percent yeah and we you were telling me you're okay with that yeah we are we believe we get a lot out of it and one of the things I was fascinated by you were saying that you can you know we continue to have our health care debates over here and you guys were saying well you want everybody to be healthy and it's and for you it's worth paying that price and if we believe it is we get a lot out of you know it's not only a school it's also children's care is kindergarten and nursery also it's not completely free but it's but it's pretty cheap well one of the most fascinating parts of my trip was seeing in Sykes Tina's house watch this [Music] five yep they're alive uh-huh uh-huh and the beacon window very clean very familiar how many children three children four children 1 & 4 & 6 7 1 & 4 & 6 yeah they have a small cave in here really has it been Wow so they climb up at night yeah this is where the kids sleep yeah look at the beds in there for the kids sleep but this is their whole bedroom yes that's at that room this is their whole bedroom you are kidding me no where's your closet that's built in but have a yeah okay yeah then you will see chaos no that's pretty nice in there look how nice that is that remote original and all this noise I did not chaos that it's very neat let's look at your refrigerator that's yeah that's your whole refrigerator yeah but that small that's small that's really makes it's wasted for the morning uh-huh that you cereals with me well they have this like you're good yes the freezer where we have that was your whole refrigerator right here that was the cold okay aspirin oh I love the screen that's my favorite color this is the whole bathroom that one bounced a good we haven't gone we have a door yes but this is the open one wow so this is shower the shower yeah shower yes back while we can now II everything appears always yes oh is it we like to spend the time together as a family mm-hmm and that's really important for wonderful all the matter yes is there another floor what we're usually how apartment we see up there you saw the bed I saw it already but no I have to go back and see it I saw that already okay so you and your husband spring up here yes oh that was the bed this is the bed well that is just charming I can't I can't get over the kids bedroom here okay okay I'm going to climb up here in the kids room this my friends is the kids room this is the whole road says the room but would it bring the do you know very nice view when we come back what I found in Denmark that is now one of my new favorite things so good and most shocking Denmark Ian's discover discovery has to do with their baby babies is something you don't see here that's for sure let's take a break and come back I just love my first visit to Copenhagen Denmark researchers have named the Danes the happiest people on earth and it's not difficult to see why all the bike riding eating fresh produce free education free health care and a year of maternity leave paid it was eye-opening and refreshing to see how they live without a lot of stuff I think most Americans would be amazed at some of what I saw at DNA and Kim's home so I hear people have generally smaller spaces but everything is as everybody is neat as you we don't have a lot of stuff because when you're like a family of five now yeah if we all have a lot of stuff you can do this facelift thing is more like yeah yes wait well that sounds like an ad less things less space lets things more like yes what your kitchen is from here to here that's your whole kitchen yes and then here and then your there is this some of the on bread yeah well what loophole can I have it I don't want to take your bread you know okay I will thank you this is your bedroom and the baby and these honest winters Wow sleeping so the twins are outside sleeping yeah who's watching them you see that would be unheard of in the United States yeah you can't do that streets as well but you do it in the streets like your babies to leave your babies like outside cafes and yes everybody wants to steal your babies nobody wants to steal you thank you no so you feel really safe Wow what about like child molesters and things like that you don't have that here we don't think about it I mean of course there might be some but I've never heard any cases of a baby carriage getting stolen or anything here in Copenhagen or in Denmark really no let's go outside and see the baby so oh here the babies are weeping outside how old are they a baby carriage how old are they they're about I'm up a mom yeah they're very tiny a month and so do you give them outside time every day yes yes enough sleeping I really God I feel bad taking bread but is it easy to get more thank you this was wonderful for letting me see more life I love that so much to talk about here first they leave their babies outside alone to sleep and another thing is that bread guys you know I came back United States we had eight loaves of bread on the place I love that was it called roll equal oh yeah this was roopu yeah yeah so cool I love still love it so Leben have a slice every morning and I hear that all that you guys do to everybody puts it into watches and roast it it's so good yeah it's like it's like eating earth yes okay charming cafes lined the streets of Copenhagen Nana Sina and a few other tall blonde lean Danish women met me at the Royal cafe take a look yes we are ladies of kapa haka how are you we're happy to meet everybody around us again I really am fascinated by this country particularly by the whole idea of women not feeling compelled to get married I had three kids before I got married three can be got married or it might be a good idea not the institution of marriage yet being with the person it's much more focused on the relationship and who you meet and how you are together and the whole marriage concept you know one of the things that I was saying is that this isn't a country that has any fears but you don't have a fear of being homeless you don't have a fear of losing your job and then therefore losing your home you don't have that of course you can lose your job but when you don't have a job someone will help you to get a job and then while you're trying to get your jobs you get support from the same yes and what's interesting to me that I've read is that because architects and teachers and doctors and bankers and middle-class people there is no real middle-class right because everybody sort of makes the same thing equal everybody more you're in the more a state in fact the more you are in the more yesterday in Texas between which influence one of the smallest in the world yes because people don't choose their professions about are based upon how much they're going to earn they choose them based on one human value an investor so that was an interesting conversation we could have says that they're all day talking about because one of the women at the table said she really was very religious and disagreed with all of you how do you define just success in Denmark Nana well I think in Denmark success is not so much about your social class or your financial situation it's more about your values and how you get work life and family to balance that and it's being creative as it has also a big value in Denmark and is considered if you do well as a creative or an intellectual that's successful but I think the happier you are the happier other people think you are on the happier you are the most successful you are actually happiness is considered a big success so feeding it it is your country I know it's a democratic country but it's a democratic country with a lot of socialist views correct yes well you might think so we don't necessarily think of it as that we more think of it as being civilized that you take care of your old and your sick can you make sure that people get they're well educated so we think of it more as being civilized I think you think of it as civilized rather than socialist yeah I think so okay good for you happiness you say is all about balance so how do you do that Gina but I think that balance is a key word for many women and it's a struggle that a lot of women have every day and it's about finding the right balance between work having a creative dream having a career and also being a mother and having the good time with your kids having a yeah to be able to spend time with them everyday and it's not just mothers it's mothers and fathers because isn't it four o'clock everybody's off of work yes no not but we split sometimes my husband pick up the kids and sometimes I do yeah that depends on how busy a day you have but in general by four o'clock aren't people out out on their bicycles and in the markets because you go to market every day Oh but most foreigners that come here are really surprised that we go home well between 4:00 and 5:00 but really strictly actually hmm because being with your family is the most important thing yes very important a lot of people in different places in the world including our country we say that but actually are having a really difficult time making that happen and what I noticed in Denmark from everybody that I saw families eat together that's a major thing that you sit at a table with your family and you eat together yeah we have a little meals together as a family so where do you keep your shampoos what I want to know how's that bathroom that clean all the time no not octuple between 4 and 8 it's really messy and then the kids sleep and we take all this stuff away and put it in the closet you can see we have filled in closet all the way around so when you open them you have millions of things but I don't think we we have as many things as you have in the states that I've lived in the state so I have a little bit of a I've had a look into how Americans live and I think we have less things actually yeah cuz your focus isn't on consumerism you're focusing on actually living yes yeah that's terrific that's why you're the happiest people in the world universal health care free university education and generous unemployment benefits are these the keys to happiness they are all offered in Denmark once again this year Denmark tops a United Nations poll as the happiest nation on earth but is this really true from Copenhagen special correspondent Malcolm Brabant investigates Danes pay more income tax than any other nationality in over fifty five thousand dollars and the tax rate hits more than sixty percent but according to happiness expert Mike Viking Danes don't mind just take free access to health care free access to university education quite generous benefits if you lose your job just just those three things means that a lot of people around the world if they don't have access to them will experience unhappiness and since the welfare state take care of that we increase the bottom what are other high levels of taxes that people have to play well it's true it's a really high levels but I think what is more interesting is that the really high level of support for the high taxes if you ask Danes are you happily paying their taxes nine out of ten will say yes it's just after two o'clock in the afternoon and some of Copenhagen's bicycling commuters are already heading home the average Dane only works a 35-hour week and enjoys five weeks annual paid leave on top of public holidays want to mention generous maternity and paternity leave according to yet another survey it has the best work-life balance in the developed world which is a source of pride for union leader nana Hoyland work-life balance means a lot to the Danish people when it comes to happiness because it's a way that you can both have a really good job and you can spend hours on your job and you can also have a feminist not everyone follows the concept of perfect little Denmark British author Michael Booth has lived here for 15 years and his book debunking the Scandinavian myths is a best-seller there pretty somber dour people they complain quite a lot but when you ask them are you happy what they really mean is well we content things function here it's safe we have a safety net we don't worry that much and the difference between the rich and the poor means that you don't have this kind of society of envy but you might have elsewhere in the world could the Danish model be transported across the Atlantic if the u.s. chose to change the girl the same things that drives happiness in Scandinavia it's the same things that drive happiness in the u.s. so I think there are some things we could export and so on so what would you have to export I think what we do is would be to to focus on the bottom half of the population to increase verse by installing welfare system inspired by the Nordic countries [Music]

Channel: Prof G

Views: 1,397,075

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Id: eKa-3lbLeyA

Length: 18min 39sec (1119 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 26 2017