The Danish people have been ranked among the top three in the world in terms of happiness, which has attracted people worldwide to learn from their lifestyle.

Hygge, a Danish word that has become popular along with Brexit and Trumpism since 2016, is now widely recognized as the code of Danish people being happy. However, it is hard to understand it literally. 

For those unfamiliar with the word, Hygge was a recent worldwide mania for the Danish way of life, a concept loosely defined as a sense of comfort and contentment, indulging in the good things and people.

To Meik Wiking, CEO of The Happiness Institute in Denmark, Hygge is the art of creating a nice atmosphere, which is momentary happiness that consists of relaxation, togetherness, pleasure, comfort, security, harmony and equality.

After doing research for more than five years, Meik's ­institute, an independent Danish think-tank that studies variables that affect happiness and the quality of life to improve­ the well-being of citizens across the world, has concluded that Hygge is the main reason for Danish people's happiness.

However, Meik told the Global Times that Hygge is mostly about small bits of ­happiness. Based on their worldwide research, to measure a nation's overall happiness requires indexes of several sectors: GDP per capita, freedom to make life choices, social support, level of generosity in a society and the level of corruption in the country.

"To me, I think that [long-term happiness] comes from knowing that my family is happy and healthy, comes from having a job which is meaningful and that I enjoy, comes from having the freedom to be able to do what I want, and comes from having enough financial resources," Meik said.

It is hard to suggest how to increase happiness, considering the different cultures, classes and countries, Meik said.

But there is something in common despite the differences, which, if people can avoid, could increase their happiness, Meik noted.

"People always tend to compare no matter which country they are from. It is human nature," Meik said, adding that when people compare how much more money they can make than others, especially people who are close to them, there is always disappointment that leads to unhappiness.

"There have always been social comparisons. Today, we have channels that just make those social comparisons ­easier. So, I think perhaps less use of social media could actually lead to less comparisons."