Will make sure Finland stays the happiest nation, and grows: PM

Finland is world’s happiest country and its Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, has declared that she intends to keep it that way in the future too.

In a rare interview with a media channel, Sanna Marin, said she is making sure she can preserve the generous welfare state in an "environmentally sustainable way". She also wants to "do better when it comes to equality".

Finland was labelled as the happies country of the world by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Networks after it asked people to rate their level of happiness on a scale of 10.

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Many believed that this was made possible because of Sanna Marin. Once the youngest prime minister of the country, Marin also gained applaud for the way she handled the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Marin, in the interview, said she is sure that the future leaders will also make sure that Finland continues to achieve and become a model of equality.

"We have always worked for equality in Finland, and I think it’s also important in the future, and not only the equality of men and women, or the genders, but also the equality of minority groups in society," she said. "We have to make sure that structures don’t act as barriers to people. So there are many things to do."

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She also stressed on the importance of ending homelessness in Finland, and even eliminate it by the end of 2027. "There are still people without homes, and we still have problems, especially in the bigger cities. But we have also made progress," she said. "The Housing First model is a very important one, but of course we also need solutions from the healthcare system, from the social security system, and employment. We have to make sure that we're treating people as whole individuals."

Marin also reiterated her support to making Finland carbon neutral by 2035, which would be 15 years earlier than the EU's target. "We want to make the transformation in a way that actually benefits ordinary people," she said. "Because if we don’t get people on board, then there’s nothing we can do."