The most satisfied and happiest people in the world
We Danes are fond of our welfare society and of living in a free and democratic country. We also pride ourselves of being among the most satisfied and happiest people in the world.
We like working, but we also enjoy having time off and spending it with our family.
We highly appreciate that we have fresh air, clean water, and bathing water, and that we can freely move about in nature. We would also very much like to take good care of nature, and many prefer organics and green energy.
We would like to live comfortably, and we are fond of gathering family and friends around a good meal, preferably prepared from fresh and local produce. That’s what we call "hygge" = having a good time!
Foto: hvidesande.dk
"Hygge"
The Danish concept of ”hygge” is a wide term, covering everything which is pleasant, nice, friendly, comfortable, relaxing, safe, and often also homely.
We enjoy ourselves when we have visitors, go for a walk with the family, have lunch with our colleagues, go out for a meal with friends, drink a cup of coffee with our neighbours or our friends, watch television, or play games together with our children. “Hygge” is often associated with joint adventures, but we can also have a good time on our own reading a good book, drinking a cup of coffee and lighting candles, or pottering around in the garden. That is indeed “hygge”!
We Danes are also renowned for our associational life. We have a long tradition for joining forces and setting up an association for anything and everything. In particular, we gather around leisure activities in the associations. The Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) alone has around 9,000 sports clubs, with a total membership of approximately 1.9 members. We Danes also like to join voluntary work in associations and institutions.
The Citizens in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality
In Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality we are at the top – when it comes to associations and voluntary work. More than 800 different associations can be found in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality. In all towns and villages, you will for example find a number of different civic associations and sports associations, whose members are diligent users of both the nature and the 26 sports- and swimming facilities and outdoor facilities. The village of Spjald holds a record – out of 1,200 inhabitants - every third inhabitant is a member of the football club.
Foto:rksk
Quite a lot of the citizens in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality are also dedicated and passionate volunteers in their leisure time. As many as 57% lend a hand to some kind of voluntary work. By comparison, the figure is 38% on a national level.
The Danish society is the most trust-based society in general in the world, with 76% being of the conviction that you can trust strangers. In Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality this figure is even higher, namely 91%, and that is saying a lot about the well-functioning local community and its citizens. We need each other, and in Western Jutland, we have a tradition for helping each other.
Statistics Denmark has also established that the citizens in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality are the most satisfied citizens in Denmark. In the survey a total of nine categories were examined and the citizens of the municipality are above national average in all categories. As an example, the citizens of the municipality are the happiest when it comes to family life. This is supported by the fact that the municipality also has the lowest divorce rate per 1000 married couples. Here the figure is 12.5 against 15.3 for the entire country.
More about the Danes
On DENMARK.DK you can read more about Denmark and the Danes, also in several different languages. You may for example be able to see a video depicting what foreign newcomers say about the Danish language:
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And here: Fun facts about Denmark.