An American man who lives in London, and describes the UK as the "second most miserable country in the world", has compared the country to Finland, having recently returned from Scandinavia. Sharing footage of a rain-sodden British street, Kjordy took to YouTube to describe the significant differences he witnessed during his trip. "I literally just got back from one of the happiest countries in the world," he said of Finland.

Kjordy admitted that "on paper", the UK and Finland are "so similar". He elaborated: "They both have the same grey, rainy weather, the same pessimistic, humble, quiet culture - but yet one is the most miserable and the other is the most happy."

So where do they differ? "In the UK everything is s*** according to people here," he said. "Everything is c*** and they [Brits] are never satisfied - and I can see why, because it is miserable."

However, in Finland, Kjordy said he found people to be more relaxed about the environment around them. "In Finland, they are not quite negative, but their expectations are so low that when something turns out to be better, it's a plus," he explained.

To illustrate his point, Kjordy recalled a quote he heard from a Finnish man during his travels. "If you aim too high, you might fall down," he said. "Speaking is silver, quiet is gold."

He then quoted another of his "favourite examples" of this outlook on life, which is: "Even cakes look better on the outside." Kjordy closed with his summary: "So I guess the only way to be the happiest country is to adopt that Finnish mindset and just have very low expectations for everything - and then maybe, just maybe you will be happy."

WARNING - explicit language in TikTok video below

Earlier this year, Finland claimed the title of the world's happiest country for the eighth year in a row, topping the annual UN-sponsored World Happiness Report. The Nordic nation's continued success in the rankings has been attributed to factors such as access to nature, a strong welfare system, and high levels of social trust.

Meanwhile, the UK slipped in the rankings. Britain ranked 23rd place, as researchers pointed to increasing political polarisation and declining social trust as potential reasons for the downward trend. The 2025 report, released to coincide with the UN's International Day of Happiness, surveyed people from across the globe, asking them to rate their lives on a scale from zero to 10. Finland emerged at the top with an average score of 7.736, followed closely by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.

One YouTube user well-placed to share their opinion is Charlotte Erika, who has a dual British and Finnish passport. "As a dual nationality Finn/Brit born in Finland living in England, the Finns have a different sense of social cohesion," she explained in response to Kjordy's clip.

She continued: "People are more valued than in the UK probably because there are less of them than in the UK, similar to the mindset of China and how they treat their people. More people equals valuing an individual less.

"Finland's values and ethics on social community is why Finland ranks highest, even though I wouldn't say they are the happiest per se, as the metrics studied are very different than everyday life, but it has the best schooling system in the world and childcare system."

Elsewhere, a Brit joked: "The problem with the UK is that we already have low expectations, yet we somehow still end up disappointed." And another noted: "Also it's very British not to overstate things. Even when we're happy we'll just say things are OK. If asked in a survey if I was happy with X, Y, and Z I'd probably mark myself a couple of points lower than reality so as not to feel like I'm bragging!"