The USA is officially the most charitable nation in the world, according to a new survey by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). The survey, called the World Giving Index 2011, also shows that Ireland is the second most charitable country and Australia the third. India ranks 91st on the list.



The World Giving Index, which is the largest study into charitable behaviour across the globe, demonstrates that the world has become a more charitable place over the last 12 months – with a 2% increase in the global population ‘helping a stranger’ and a 1% increase in people volunteering.



While more of the global population has been giving up time to help others, the worldwide financial turmoil is almost certainly to blame for the fact that 1% fewer people have given money to a charity than in 2010.



The report – which is compiled by CAF using Gallup polling information on the charitable behaviour of people in 153 nations – is based on three measures. These are ‘giving money’, ‘volunteering time’ and ‘helping a stranger’. The global average of the three giving behaviours in 2011 was 32.4%, compared to 31.6% in 2010.



According to the study, the most commonplace giving behaviour in 2011 was ‘helping a stranger’. Almost half the global population (47%) helps a stranger in a typical month. In comparison, fewer than three out of ten people ‘give money to charity’ (29%) or ‘volunteer time’ (21%) each month.



The USA, which was ranked fifth in last year’s report, has seen an increase in all three measures, ranging from a 4% increase in ‘volunteering time’ to an 8% increase in ‘helping a stranger’.



The fourth most charitable country, according to the report, is New Zealand, followed by the UK, in fifth place; the Netherlands, sixth; Canada, seventh; Sri Lanka, eighth; Thailand, ninth; and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, tenth. Meanwhile, the country ranked as the least charitable nation on earth is Madagascar.



The study also shows that Australasia is the most charitable region, followed by Central and Eastern Europe, second; and Central America, third.



According to the study, giving money to charity is growing faster among the oldest age groups. Helping strangers meanwhile is becoming more common among those of middle age.



The report shows key differences in the charitable behaviours of the sexes. Thirty per cent of females have given money to charity per month in 2011 compared to 29% of males.



However, 48% of males have ‘helped a stranger’ each month compared to 46% of females – and 22% of males have ‘volunteered time’ per month compared with 19% of females.



The highest-ranked country for ‘giving money’ is Thailand with 85% of the population making a donation per month. The UK is second, with 79%, and Ireland and the Netherlands jointly third with 75%.



The highest-ranked country for ‘helping a stranger’ is Liberia, with 81% of the population giving in this way each month. The USA is second, with 73%, and Ghana and Sierra Leone jointly third, with 72%.



Turkmenistan is the country with the highest percentage of the population ‘volunteering time’, with 61% doing so. Second is Liberia, 48%, and third is Sri Lanka, 46%.



By far the largest increase in the percentage of population ‘giving money’ has been in Asia, with an increase of 9% in South Eastern Asia and an increase of 10% in Southern Asia.



The report shows that the worldwide increase in inclination to ‘help a stranger’ is in part due to a surge in the prevalence of this behaviour in Asia – with the four Asian regions seeing increases in the percentages of their populations ‘helping a stranger’ ranging from between 4-16%.



The Gallup opinion polls, used as the basis for the World Giving Index, asked over 150,000 people – representing 95% of the global population – whether they had given money to charity, volunteered time or helped a stranger in the last month. Using information from these interviews, the World Giving Index combines the levels of each charitable behaviour to produce a ranking of the most charitable nations in the world.



CAF Chief Executive John Low said: “The finding that millions more people globally have given their time to others this year, compared to 2010, is a compelling and inspiring reminder of the inherent generosity of men and women.



“It shows that the majority of the global population – despite differences of nationality, faith and culture – really do care about others in their community.”



“However, the fact that donations have become smaller and less frequent is one of the real tragedies of the financial crisis.



“Falling donations mean less aid during disasters, less access to clean water, good hygiene and decent housing, and a reduced capacity to care for the most vulnerable in society.



“While financial markets usually rebound, rebuilding lives and communities can prove far more difficult. Therefore, it is vital that governments around the world take the necessary steps to promote to support the work charities.



“They can do this by promoting greater, and more effective, giving; advancing the idea of regular giving as a social norm; and encouraging banks to offer low-cost financial advice to charities and facilitate donations.”



CAF is an international UK registered charity. Its mission is to motivate society to give ever more effectively, and help transform lives and communities around the world. It advises on and distributes charitable funds around the world and has offices in nine countries: UK, America, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Bulgaria.





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