Perhaps surprisingly, the tiny nordic country of Iceland ranked higher than nearly every nation on this list, despite its isolation, extreme weather and long, dark winters.

令人訝異的是， 雖然冰島這個小小的北歐國家地理位置孤立、氣候極端、冬天又冷又漫長，但在這個名單上，冰島的排序幾乎贏過所有國家！

So, what is life like in Iceland, and why are the Icelandic people so happy?

那麼冰島的真實生活究竟是什麼樣子呢？又為什麼冰島人會這麼快樂呢？

Well, in just about every sense, Iceland is small. At just under 40 thousand square miles, the entire country could fit inside the US state of Kentucky.

就各種意義上來說，冰島很小，國土面積在 4 萬平方英哩以下，整個國家可以塞進美國的肯塔基州裡面。

Iceland's population of over 300 thousand is extremely homogeneous, with nearly 95 percent ethnic Icelandic.

在冰島僅超過三十萬的人口中，種族的同質性是很高的，有 95% 的人口是冰島人

About two thirds of its people live in or around the capital, Reykjavik, which ranks as one of the safest, cleanest, and most eco-friendly cities in the world.

約有三分之二的人口住在首都–雷克雅維克或附近地區，雷克雅維克是世界上最安全、乾淨又環保的城市之一。

And Reykjavik is not too different from the rest of Iceland, as the country runs almost completely on renewable, geothermal energy, and boasts extremely low crime rates.

雷克雅維克其實和冰島其他地區沒有明顯差別，因為這個國家幾乎完全是使用可再生的地熱能源來運作，冰島也自豪於國內極低的犯罪率。。

In fact, it has one of the lowest per-capita murder rates in the world, with one for every 100 thousand people.

事實上，冰島的人均謀殺率是全世界最低的，每十萬人中只有一人死於謀殺。

As a result, police and security have little presence, and even the country's larger cities function more like small towns.

因此，冰島的警察少有出面的機會，因此甚至連大城市安全防護的運作就和小城鎮一樣。

Icelandic people have high levels of collective trust, and, as such, are known to keep valuables in plain sight and send their young children to school by themselves.

冰島人對群體有很高的信任度，就這點而言，最為人熟知的，大概就是冰島人會將貴重物品放在明顯可見的地方，也會親自送小孩去上學。

This cooperative mentality is reinforced by Iceland's government infrastructure.

這種互助合作思想更是被冰島政府組織加以強化。

The country is a parliamentary republic, and maintains a generous social welfare system that provides free education through college, as well as health care and nine months of paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers.

冰島是個議會制共和國，維持著完善的社會福利系統。這套系統不僅提供免費教育直到大學，也提供了健康照護以及提供新手父母九個月的新生兒照護補貼。

As a result, most Icelanders are healthy, well-educated and employed.

因此，大部分的冰島人都是健康、受到良好教育也有工作的。

The unemployment rate is just five percent, and the average citizen lives about 83 years, which is 12 years longer than the global average.

冰島的失業率只有 5%，公民的平均壽命是 83 歲。

This can also be attributed to Icelanders' healthy lifestyles.

這個數字比起全球平均壽命還高出12年，這個特性也可以說是歸功於冰島人健康的生活方式。

A typical Icelandic meal is a smorgasbord of organic produce, yogurt and local fish, and the most popular leisure activities are ice climbing, kayaking and going to the gym.

傳統的冰島餐點是由有機食品、優格以及當地漁獲做成的豐富自助餐，而冰島最受歡迎的休閒活動有攀冰、划皮艇以及上健身房。

Another national pastime is reading and writing.

冰島的另一個國民娛樂是閱讀和寫作。

Iceland publishes more books per capita and translates more international literature than any other nation in the world.

冰島是世界上每人平均出版書籍的比例最高以及翻譯最多世界文學作品的國家。

And, studies show that roughly one in ten Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetime.

而有研究顯示，大約十分之一的冰島人在他們有生之年會出版一本書。

But perhaps the best symbol of Iceland's ubiquitous health, happiness and unity, are its huge heated public pools, also called 'sundlaugar.'

但也許最能代表冰島健康、快樂與團結特性的事物，就是當地巨大的公共熱池，又叫做 sundlaugar。

These pools are widely regarded as a kind of civil right, and families, teenagers and seniors are known to lounge in them in near nudity every day.

冰島人普遍認為享受這種大水池是一種民權，無論是家族、青少年或年長者都喜歡每天以近乎裸體的狀態在水池裡悠游。。

'Sundlaugar' are not only lauded for their health benefits, but also their ability to unite the community and build public trust.

Sundlaugar 活動不僅對冰島人的健康有益，也讓他們能夠增進社會團結性以及建立對大眾的信任。

Experts say Iceland's strong sense of community has solidified its so-called "happiness maintenance," which is a consistently high happiness rate even when the country is in crisis.

專家表示冰島人強烈的社會意識鞏固了所謂的「幸福保存」，這是一種堅定的高幸福程度，甚至在國家發生危險時也會如此表現。

For example, after the 2007 global recession decimated the country's economy, some Icelanders actually reported greater happiness.

舉例來說，2007年的全球經濟衰退嚴重衝擊了冰島的經濟，但有些冰島人事實上感覺更幸福了。

Experts say this is because those who lost their jobs tended not to feel isolated, as Icelanders can count on their friends, family and government for support.

專家的解釋是因為這些失業的冰島人感覺上較不孤獨，因為冰島人可以從朋友、家人以及政府獲得支持及慰藉。

With a healthy, educated populace and a strong safety net, life in Iceland doesn't look too bad.

有受過良好教育以及健康的民眾，還有強力的保障體系，在冰島的生活看起來還挺不賴的。

Iceland isn't the only happy-go-lucky Nordic country, the rest of them are pretty well off with a high standard of living.

冰島並不是唯一一個無憂無慮的北歐國家，北歐其餘的國家同樣都是高水準的宜居地點。

But are they powerful politically or economically?

但這些國家有強大的政治或經濟力量嗎？

Find out by watching this video!

想知道的話，就看看這部影片吧！

But unlike similarly large nations, the nordic countries have some of the lowest population density in the world with only 26 million total residence.

但是不同於其他差不多面積的國家，這些北歐國家在世界上有著最低的人口密度，總共只有 260 萬人。

This is mostly because half of their land is uninhabited Arctic thanks to Greenland.

這主要是因為格陵蘭島，一半以上的土地都在無法居住的北極圈。