Why Denmark is such a happy country – a Copenhagen holiday explains its secret

For lovers of statistics, how about this one: 63 per cent of Danish politicians ride their bikes to parliament every day. I rather like the idea of the nation’s decision makers pedalling through the snow on winter mornings alongside their fellow citizens.

Copenhagen has more bicycles than people and more than half the workforce commute on bikes on a daily basis. The Danish capital boasts 454km of cycle lanes and pedestrians intending to cross the road have to negotiate a blonde stream of professionals, students and mums towing babies in trendy buggies before they get to the motorised vehicles. Intelligent traffic lights designed to give priority to bikes and buses are being installed and even the rubbish bins are mounted at just the right angle for lobbing litter in without having to dismount.

Despite all the cardio-friendly activity, the Danes also like to let their fair hair down when the opportunity arises and, on the day I arrive, the entire population appears to be on a boozy bender. Unseasonably warm spring weather causes beads of sweat to settle on Scandinavian foreheads and damp patches to form on T shirts. Temperatures are forecast to reach a sultry 19 degrees Celsius.

Alcohol is expensive in Copenhagen’s bars but there’s a workaround familiar to any budget-minded Hong Kong tippler. Along with every other convenience store I pass, the Nørrebrogade branch of 7-Eleven is overwhelmed with thirsty punters ransacking the fridges for cans and bottles. Queen Louise’s Bridge is transformed into a raucous gathering place and, by mid-afternoon, even pavement space is hard to come by.

Drinkers with reddening faces spill onto riverside lawns and, this being Copenhagen, empty cans and bottles are neatly stacked, ready to be returned for recycling. Denmark is consistently ranked among the happiest countries in the world – perhaps they’re polled on sunny summer evenings after a few bottles of Carlsberg.