Scandinavian nations, including Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, consistently rank highly in happiness and quality of life, as evidenced by the 2024 Global Passport Index. Sweden ranks first, followed by Denmark and Norway in the top 10 for both passport strength and quality of life. Key factors contributing to their success include robust social welfare systems, universal healthcare, and family-friendly policies. High tax rates fund these initiatives, ensuring equity among citizens. This approach leads to better income equality and a stable future for residents.
As Laura Madrid Sartoretto, the lead researcher at GCS, explained to Travel + Leisure, there's a reason these nations always come out on top. "They [Scandinavian countries] rank well in the Global Passport Index, in general, but they do even better when we talk about quality of life." This balance of prosperity and equity stems from strong social welfare systems that ensure a high standard of living for all citizens.
According to Sartoretto, Scandinavian countries have created people-first nations, investing heavily in universal health care and education, along with family-friendly policies like their lengthy parental leave programs, which in Sweden can also be split between parents.
Health care policies in these countries also ensure citizens have access to a variety of mental and physical health programs. Initiatives are primarily funded through taxation, which, yes, is high.
However, each nation also ensures that the wealthiest pay a larger sum, ensuring better income equality, which contributes to people’s stability and ability to think about the future.
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