This was published 7 years ago
Australia named world's third most generous country in 2016 World Giving Index
By Oliver Smith
Myanmar (Burma) has been named the world's most generous country, pipping the US and Australia to the honour, in Charities Aid Foundation's 2016 World Giving Index.
Australia was named third most giving country in the index which rates 140 countries in three categories: helping a stranger, donating money, and volunteering time. The index is billed as "the world's leading study of generosity".
According to its research, Myanmar was named the most generous nation as 91 per cent its residents gave money to charity in the past year, 62 per cent said they had helped a stranger, and 55 per cent claimed they had volunteered.
"The high scores are likely to be a result of Theravada Buddhism practiced by a large proportion of the population in Myanmar, whereby followers donate to support those living a monastic lifestyle – a practice known as Sangha Dana," the report states.
The UK and Ireland both made the top 10, with 69 per cent of Britons giving money, 33 per cent giving time, and 61 per cent helping a stranger. An average of 1,000 people were questioned in each country to produce the report.
The 20 most generous countries
- Myanmar
- United States
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Sri Lanka
- Canada
- Indonesia
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- UAE
- Uzbekistan
- Kenya
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Turkmenistan
- Malta
- Iceland
- Bhutan
- Kuwait
- Denmark
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Despite its torrid recent history, Iraq also scored highly. It was ranked 31st overall, but topped the "helping a stranger" table, ahead of several other war-torn countries.
The report added: "We continue to be humbled by signs of generosity across the globe in times of adversity, with people rallying when there is a greater need within the population. Iraq, for the second year, occupies the number one position on helping a stranger despite the ongoing civil war whilst Libya, interviewed for the first time since 2012 has increased on this measure despite their bloody civil war.
"It appears that their increasingly fragile civil societies, coupled with greater need amongst the population, is encouraging more people to be responsive out of sheer necessity."
Top 10 countries for helping a stranger
- Iraq
- Libya
- Kuwait
- Somalia
- UAE
- Malawi
- Botswana
- Sierra Leone
- United States
- Saudi Arabia
At the other end of the scale, China was rated the least generous country, with just six per cent giving money to charity, four per cent offering time, and 24 per cent helping a stranger. Eastern European countries also fared poorly.
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The 20 least generous countries
- China
- Palestinian Territories
- Yemen
- Greece
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Serbia
- Hungary
- Montenegro
- Madagascar
- Azerbaijan
- Armenia
- Bulgaria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Russia
- Slovakia
- Lithuania
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Czech Republic
The Telegraph, London
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