Here are two Finnish apps that help build real-life connections
In Finland, community often grows through shared hobbies, neighbourhood traditions and, increasingly, digital platforms that make it easier to ask for and offer help.
9 years and counting: Finland is first in the World Happiness Report
The World Happiness Report singles out Finland as the happiest country in the world in 2026, for the ninth year running. To celebrate, we seek out people named Onni (Happiness) to ask what makes them happy (see video).
Happiness doesn’t just happen. In Finland, it’s the result of strong social systems and a culture of wellbeing that has been carefully built over the past 100 years.
8 questions on the Kalevala, the epic that shaped Finland’s identity
The epic Kalevala relates ancient tales, mainly from the Karelia region, and has become a cornerstone of Finland’s cultural identity. Its poetry has reached readers all over the world, including J.R.R. Tolkien, who took inspiration from it.
When a Northern Finnish child picked up a kantele mostly to annoy her sister, no one imagined she would become one of the instrument’s boldest contemporary voices.
Finnish winter fun: Zooming across a frozen lake on an ice route
Across Finland, ploughed and marked routes on frozen bodies of water turn winter landscapes into public playgrounds. On Lake Tuusula, the atmosphere resembles a festival.
Warm, windproof and Finnish: How Finns dress for the ski tracks
People in Finland love cross-country skiing. But how should you dress for exercising in freezing conditions? We let the skiers share their best advice.
Helsinki underground: Where the city plays, swims and shelters
Beneath Helsinki’s streets lies a second city that is carefully planned and actively used. From playgrounds to rehearsal rooms, the Finnish capital has turned preparedness into part of everyday urban life.
Newsletter subscription
Hear the latest news from finland.fi by subscribing to our newsletter.
ThisisFINLAND.fi is produced within the
communications department of Finland’s
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. For more
about the ministry’s data protection
policies, see its data protection info page.
