Norwegians seventh happiest in the world
Norwegians have been ranked the seventh happiest in the World Happiness Report for 2025, below the other Nordic countries.
Norway was last ranked as the world’s happiest country in 2017, experts in Norway have pointed to economic concerns among young people, growing inequality, and international unrest as the factors behind Norway’s slump.
“We have groups that have completely different lives than the majority. These are those with problems with living conditions, poor finances, poor networks, and poor health. Many young people in particular experience a lot of loneliness, and we see that one of the most important things for quality of life is relationships,” happiness researcher Ragnhild Bang Nes at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI/NIPH) told the Norwegian newswire NTB.
The NIPH also highlighted a strong link between the number of people living in a household and their happiness, with those who live alone being far less happy.
“Shared meals are a very strong indicator of quality of life, on par with income and unemployment. Those who share more meals with others report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction,” the NIPH wrote in its research.
Increase in applications for vocational courses
More than half of applicants to upper-secondary school in Norway, or videregående skole, have applied for a vocational course as their first choice.
“It is incredibly good. Norway needs more skilled professionals to be able to solve the major societal challenges we face,” education minister Kari Nessa Nordtun said in a government press release.
Finnmark was the county with the largest number of applicants for vocational courses, with 70.7 percent of applicants pursuing a vocational subject as their first choice.
Statistics Norway has warned that Norway could have a shortfall of 85,000 skilled workers in 2035, which is why the government have made a push to get more people onto vocational courses.
“In total, we are spending close to a billion kroner this year to ensure that more people complete upper secondary school and more people are qualified for the workforce. We are also tightening the requirements so that companies working for the public sector must use apprentices,” Nordtun said.
One in five parents concerned about cocaine use
Some 21 percent of parents to children aged between 13-17 are concerned about young people using cocaine, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the alcohol prevention organization Av-og-til.
Meanwhile, only 3 percent of parents were concerned about their children consuming alcohol.
“Youth drinking is often risky and contributes to far more challenges overall,” Ragnhild Kaski, secretary general of Av-og-til, told Norwegian newswire NTB.
“We should not trivialize the increase in cocaine use. At the same time, it is important to remember that the vast majority of people do not use cocaine,” she added.
UN body suggests veto rights for Sami in Norway
The UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) has made 18 suggestions on how Norway can strengthen the rights of the Sami.
Among those is a right that would allow the Sami to veto infrastructure plans in areas used for traditional Sami cultural activities, like reindeer herding.
“To ensure that no development projects or commercial activities are initiated without the express consent of Sami rights holders,” the body wrote.
Local government minister Kjersti Stenseng has shot down the suggestion.
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