In late March, the United Nations published the 2020 World Happiness Report, a comprehensive look at what makes the most contented countries work so well. For the seventh year in a row, the Nordic nations of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden dominated the top ten. While rankings are based on several factors, including political rights and economic equality, these countries have a few key metrics in common: low corruption rates, universal public services, and great access to the outdoors.

For many of these countries, not only is nature within easy reach, but it’s an important part of their cultures. For the Scandinavian nations that take up six of the top-ten spots, the term friluftsliv, which literally translates to “open-air living,” denotes “a philosophical lifestyle based on experiences of the freedom in nature and the spiritual connectedness with the landscape,” according to “Friluftsliv: The Scandinavian Philosophy of Outdoor Life,” an article in The Canadian Journal of Environmental Education.

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