ANZACs most generous

Kiwis and Aussies have been ranked the most generous givers of time and money to charity.

The Charities Aid Foundation has published the World Giving Index. They use poll data from Gallup, and average out the percentages who say they have donated money, donated time and helped a stranger.

Overall, 20% of the world's population had volunteered time in the month prior to interview, 30% of the world's population had given money to charity, and 45% of the world's population had helped a stranger. and are, jointly, the most ‘giving' countries in the world. These countries both boast a World Giving Index score (the average of their scores on ‘giving money', ‘giving time', and ‘helping a stranger') of 57%. Eight other countries from three regions also have a World Giving Index score of over 50%.

And some interesting correlations:

The link between the giving of money and happiness is stronger (a coefficient of 0.69) than the link between the giving of money and the GDP of a nation (0.58). It would be reasonable to conclude that giving is more an emotional act than a rational one.

The more generous you are, the happier you are.

The countries are:

  • 1= New Zealand 57%
  • 1= Australia 57%
  • 3= Ireland 56%
  • 3= 56%
  • 5= Switzerland 55%
  • 5= USA 55%
  • 7 Netherlands 54%
  • 8= 53%
  • 8= Sri Lanka 53%
  • 10 52%

The bottom eight countries are:

  • 153 Madagascar 12%
  • 152 Burundi 12%
  • 150= Ukraine 13%
  • 150= Serbia 13%
  • 147= Greece 14%
  • 147= Lithuania 14%
  • 147= China 14%
  • 146 15%

The top country for giving money is Malta at 83%, followed by Netherlands at 77% and Uk and Thailand at 73%.

The top country for giving time is Turkmenistan at 61%, Sri Lanka 52% and Central African Republic 47%.

The top country for helping strangers is Sierra Leone at 75%, and Canada at 68%.

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