Everyone has heard of the famous Nordic healthcare system, but how good is it compared to the rest of the world? Good enough to make it on the list of the top 10 most healthy countries in the world!

The title of the healthiest country in the world was won by Singapore, followed by Luxembourg, Japan, and Switzerland.

Two Nordic countries, Sweden and Norway, placed in 7 and 8 respectively. Nordic healthcare systems are some of the best in the world thanks to its easy access (every citizen has equal access to services), low co-payments, and experienced medical professionals.

The report, compiled by the Legatum Prosperity Index, judged countries on their healthcare systems, level of disease, obesity rates, and life and death-related factors like life expectancy, perceptions of health problems, vaccination rates, tuberculosis, obesity, and diabetes.

The United States struggled to do well, coming in 35th place overall.

The report also takes into account feelings of joy, sadness, worry and people’s satisfaction with their country’s healthcare, and the quality of sanitation facilities.

‘Having risen strongly at the beginning of the last decade, world health is now beginning to flat-line,’ said the report.

‘The long-term trends of rising life expectancy and increased access to basic sanitation continue, particularly noticeable in the Asia-Pacific region. But these effects have been offset by more people reporting health problems and higher reported incidences of sadness and worry.’

Big movers include Zimbabwe, which had the biggest increase in life expectancy, with it rising 15 years in the last decade, along with Laos, India, and Tajikistan having had the best overall increase in the quality of their healthcare systems.

Conversely, people in eastern Europe are the least satisfied with their healthcare out of anyone in the world.

Check out the top 10 healthiest countries for 2018:

1. Singapore
2. Luxembourg
3. Japan
4. Switzerland
5. Qatar
6. Austria
7. Sweden
8. Norway
9. Hong Kong
10. United Arab Emirates

Were you surprised by the results? Let us know in the comments below!

Last Friday, November 30, at 11.51 AM Sweden’s northernmost point, Treriksröset, saw the sun set for the last time this year.

Treriksröset (English: Three-Country Cairn) is Sweden’s most northern point as well as the international border where Finland, Norway, and Sweden meet.

This phenomenon is called the polar night, which means that the night will last for more than 24 hours, and gradually move south over the Northen regions of Sweden in the coming days. Keinovuopio, which is Sweden’s most northern inhabited city with five citizens over the age of 16 (2016), the polar night began on December 1. Because of the snow, reflected light and moonlight, it won’t be completely dark, however, the next time the sun moves over the horizon will be in January 2019.

The days will continue to get shorter all over Sweden, until winter solstice arrives which is the shortest and darkest day of the year —  this year it falls on December 21 at 11.11 PM.

If you want to see what a Polar Night looks like, check out the video below.

Denmark is changing their immigration policy, which will make it harder for refugees to get permanent residence in the country.

The Danish government also wants to limit the amount of family-based immigration, as well as build an exit center on an island for criminal immigrants waiting to be deported.

This was presented by the Danish government and its support party, Dansk Folkeparti on Friday. “Too many refugees become immigrants in Denmark, and when you can, you should go back to your home country,” said Kristian Jensen, Denmark’s Minister of Finance to Sveriges Radio (SR).

Dansk Folkeparti, known to push a restrictive immigration policy, has wanted a paradigm shift from integration to relocating back home (when possible), for quite a while. “We might push the limit for what international conventions allow, but that’s because there’s been a need for that,” said group leader Peter Skaarup, Dansk Folkeparti.

“All the details surrounding the new legislative proposals haven’t been presented yet, but there will be a limit to the amount of family-based immigration allowed, as well as the construction of an exit center on an island for criminals waiting to be deported,” said Kristian Jensen.

“It’s not a prison, but we have to get better control over the immigrants that are waiting to be deported, but are still committing crimes.”

You can read more about the story here (in Swedish): https://www.svd.se/dansk-folkeparti-vill-placera-flyktingar-pa-ode-o

Popping into the sauna on a regular basis has plenty of benefits for the body and mind, research shows.

Studies done at the University of Eastern Finland show that spending time in a sauna regularly is good for your health. After studying 1,700 men and women, over the age of 50, who spent about 4-7 times a week in a sauna, researchers found that the risk of heart failure decreased significantly, writes the national Finnish news station, Yle.

Featured image: Plus Life Health

But it is not only people over 50 who benefit from sweating it out in a dry heated room for a period of time. Research also reveals that these health benefits should be applicable to young people as well!

Still not convinced? Listen to this: it only takes 10-15 minutes for the positive effects to kick in, according to professor Jari Laukkanen at the University of Eastern Finland.

So prioritize your health, and enjoy some sauna time. And don’t forget the whisk and the sauna sausage!

When people travel outside of their home country, one of their main concerns is getting around without knowing the local language. However, if your next destination is Sweden, you have nothing to worry about.

The Swedes were recently ranked as the best non-native English speakers in the world, beating 87 other countries to take the top spot.

EF Education First, a language training company, recently released their English Proficiency Index (EPI) results, which measures the level of English proficiency in a country’s population. This year, Sweden grabbed the first place, followed by the Netherlands, Singapore, Norway, and Denmark. The five countries with the lowest proficiency were Afghanistan, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Libya.

What’s the secret to the Swedes impeccable English? For starters, children are taught English at a young age and often practice it at home; shows and movies only have subtitles and no voiceover dubbing, which comes from Swedes understanding the importance of knowing English as a global language.

Interestingly, women outranked men as the better English speakers with an extra two points. Sweden has also never been ranked below the top five spots in the entire history of the survey and has previously held the number one spot in 2012, 2013, and 2015.

Interested in learning more about the results? Check out EF’s report here.

Is Finland a model nation for preventing forest fires and other disasters? Donald Trump thinks so.

Trump recently visited the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, California, where more than 153,336 acres were burned and 80 people have gone missing in the deadliest fire in California’s history.

Trump blamed the multiple fires in California on the fact that there should be more forest management, and explained his stance by tweeting:

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” Trump wrote, threatening to cut off federal funding for forest management. “Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018

During a press conference later in the day, the President suggested that more people should be cleaning up leaves in the forests to prevent blazes. He explained:

“You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story. I was with the President of Finland and he said we are a forest nation. He called it a forest nation,” Trump told reporters, “And they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.”

However, Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö, told Ilta-Sanomat, the country’s second-largest newspaper, that he never discussed raking with Trump during their brief meeting in Paris last weekend. “I mentioned [to] him that Finland is a land covered by forests and we also have a good monitoring system and network,” Niinstö recalled saying.

After Trump’s tweet, it was brought to light that Finns don’t actually rake their forests, only their parks, and yards. They do practice thinning, where trees are selectively cut down to reduce the risk of a fire, according to the Finnish Forest Association.

The real secret to Finland’s lack of forest fires? It’s thanks to a colder climate and trees that are naturally less prone to catching fire. (To read more about the country’s lack of forest fires, check out this interesting article from the Finnish Forest Association!)

Enjoy some of the Finn’s hilarious replies to being called a “forest nation”:

#RakeAmericaGreatAgain #RakeNews – I haven’t laughed that much as I laughed today. Thanks @realDonaldTrump ??? pic.twitter.com/fkmazWBvVb

— Emilia Inkinen (@ilikewoolsocks) November 18, 2018

The President of Finland ready to take another generation of Finns to rake and clean the forest floors to prevent forest fires. pic.twitter.com/8fAyVoJ2Qx

— Antti Holma (@anttiholma) November 17, 2018

Not on my watch!#Rakenews pic.twitter.com/SOt8LHQZjt

— Arto Aspfors (@aspfors) November 18, 2018

Just an ordinary day in the Finnish forest ~ Ihan normipäivä suomalaisessa metsässä #Trump #forest #firesafety #raking #forestry #Finland #Finnish #CaliforniaFire #RakingAmericaGreatAgain #rakingtheforest #Suomi #haravointi #metsäpalot #rakingleaves pic.twitter.com/YOKA3D6C2K

— Pyry Luminen (@pyryluminen) November 18, 2018

The winner of this year’s Miss Norway, 22-year-old student Susanne Næss Guttorm, can’t wait to step on the stage of the Miss Universe.

Her goal (besides winning!)? To promote Sami culture.

Susanne, who comes from the village of Karasjok in the far north of Norway, is Sami herself. After winning this year’s Miss Norway 2018, she will go on to represent her country at the Miss Universe pageant in December.

Susanne says that she has recently started focusing on promoting the Sami in connection with her Miss Norway award so that more people can learn about their culture and way of life. To get a glimpse into her life, check out the video below:

In her personal life, Susanne currently lives in Oslo, where she is pursuing an education geared to becoming a construction engineer. In an interview, she mentions that her year as a Miss Norway finalist has been an educational, fun and hectic year.

Norway’s most recent Miss Universe win was in 1990 when Mona Grudt took the crown.

Will Susanne be the next Norwegian winner at Miss Universe? We’ll soon find out!