Many people in Finland have a gloomy outlook for the future, a fresh survey finds.
The majority of people in Finland said they believed the state of the world, Europe as well as Finland are all deteriorating over the next 20-30 years, according to a survey by the Foundation for Municipal Development.
The survey questioned respondents on three sets of questions pertaining to how they saw the world, Europe and Finland developing over the next few decades.
Some 60 percent of respondents said the world as well as the European continent were headed in a bad direction.
Regarding Finland, half said they believed the country was entering a darker period. A quarter of respondents were, however, upbeat about Finland, saying they were confident the state as well as their home regions had brighter days ahead.
Conservatives and Greens happiest
Men in Finland took a more optimistic view of the future than women. Members of the National Coalition Party and the Greens were most positive, on average. Supporters of these parties tend to live in urban areas, which are perceived as having better prospects for the future.
Finns Party members had the most dismal outlook for Finland as well as the rest of the world.
In 2019 Finland held on to its title as "the happiest country in the world" for the second consecutive year, according to a UN ranking, which rates states on citizens' perceptions of happiness.
More than 1,000 people responded to the poll carried out by Kantar TNS in early December. The margin of error was three percentage points.