Most Charitable Countries 2022

Giving Index of the World

Some nations across the globe are known for their generosity, and money isn’t necessary to participate. The Charities Aid Foundation releases its World Giving Index (WGI) every year.

The study evaluates three types of charitable giving: monetary donations, volunteer time, and aiding strangers. It is the world’s biggest survey of philanthropic initiatives. More than 2.5 billion individuals have assisted a stranger in the previous decade, making it the most popular of the three giving activities.

Worldwide Charity Giving in 2020

The first year of the worldwide COVID-19 epidemic significantly influenced charitable giving in the World Giving Index’s 2021 edition. There has been a noteworthy shift in personal donating patterns in many nations during the last several years.

The United States, which had been number one in the world in charitable giving from 2009 to 2018, plummeted to number 19 in 2020. No shortage of high-level donors backed out.

Several countries that had previously ranked among the top ten most philanthropic nations have now dropped out of the top twenty.

According to Charities Aid Foundation CEO Neil Heslop, these changes do not indicate that people’s desire to contribute reduced, but rather that their opportunity to donate dropped, mostly due to pandemic-related lockdowns.

Closures and cancellations of fundraising events meant that many senior volunteers had to stay at home rather than participate in charitable activities.

Fortunately, there was also some positive news to report. Countries like Indonesia and Thailand benefited greatly from religiously motivated charitable donations.

Much charity was also sparked in Africa by the ethos of “ubuntu,” which promotes a sense of belonging to a larger human family.

This year’s World Giving Index (WGI) found that 55% of the world’s population gave to someone in need, the highest proportion since 2009.

Top 10 Most Charitable Countries in 2009, 2018, and 2020

Donations to Charities Around the World, 2009-2018

For the 10th anniversary of the World Giving Index, a decade of data (from 2009 to 2018) was compiled, revealing patterns in charity giving throughout periods of economic downturn, economic recovery, and geopolitical instability.

The data set included one hundred and twenty-five nations, which totaled more than one million persons. According to CAF’s analysis of 10 years of survey data from countries worldwide, no one quality signals generosity.

The most generous nations come from various socioeconomic backgrounds, religious traditions, and geographic locations. Even though the United Nations classifies Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia as low-middle-income nations, these countries have been named among the world’s most philanthropic.

Charitable countries in the globe in 2009-2018.

1. United States

With 58 percent of the 10 years’ worth of data, the United States was shown to be the most philanthropic nation.

Seventy-two percent of those polled in the United States during ten years said they helped a stranger; sixty-one percent said they donated to a charity, and forty-two percent said they volunteered.

2. Myanmar

Overall, Myanmar ranked second in the world as the most philanthropic nation. Despite being a low-income nation, Myanmar had the greatest proportion of individuals giving to charitable causes at 81%. Myanmar is home to many Theravada Buddhists, many of whom do tiny acts of generosity regularly.

When it comes to philanthropic giving, Myanmar ranked first in the world from 2013 to 2016, with donations totaling more than 90% of the population.

3. New Zealand

With a philanthropic score of 57%, New Zealand was the only nation to place in the top 10 for all three giving metrics. 65% of New Zealanders donated, 64% helped strangers, and 6% spent their time volunteering (41 percent ).

New Zealand’s levels of charitable giving have been constant over the previous decade, ranging between 57% and 61%.

4. Australia

Australia, New Zealand’s next-door neighbor, was voted the fourth-most philanthropic nation globally, with an overall score of 56%. 68% of Australians donated to charity, and 64 percent of Australians helped strangers, making them the eighth and ninth most generous countries, respectively (tied with New Zealand and Malawi).

A steady 55-60% of Australian households donate to charity each year, similar to New Zealand’s average of 55%.

5. Ireland

Ireland received a score of 56%, making it the top European performer. In the study, 62% said they had helped a stranger, 69% said they had donated to a charity, and 38% said they had given their time to an organization.

The amount of donations in Ireland has changed more than in the other top 10 nations, ranging from 53% to 60% in the last decade.

6. Canada

There were 55 percent of people in sixth-place Canada who had donated to charity (63 percent), helped strangers (64 percent), or volunteered (37 percent).

The amount of money that Canadians have donated to charity has varied dramatically during the last decade. From 2014 to 2018, the percentage of Canadians who gave dropped from 60% to 55%.

7. United Kingdom

From 2009 to 2018, the UK’s total philanthropic score was 54%. There was a 71% contribution rate in the United Kingdom, a 60% help strangers rate, and a 30% volunteer rate.

The high contribution percentage in the United Kingdom is hardly surprising, given the country’s long history of charitable giving. The lowest donating percentage in the United Kingdom was 50%, and the greatest percentage was 57% throughout the ten years studied.

8. Netherlands

In terms of generosity, the Netherlands was ranked ninth globally, with a total score of 53%. As in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands’ contribution rate was second only to 71 percent.

The level of donating in the Netherlands remained somewhat more steady than in the other top-scoring European nations, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with levels of donating ranging from 51% to 56%.

9. Sri Lanka

In all, 51% of Sri Lankans donated. Sri Lanka has the highest volunteer rate globally, with 46 percent of the population participating.

Fifty percent of those polled said they donated to a charity, while another 55 percent said they helped a stranger. Despite its lower-middle-income status, Sri Lanka is among the world’s ten most giving nations, demonstrating that being kind does not need material prosperity.

10. Indonesia

In terms of total giving, Indonesia was the tenth most philanthropic nation globally, with a 50% level of donation.

Some 69% of individuals asked said they gave to charity (the sixth-highest percentage in the world), 42% reported assisting a stranger, and 40% said they had volunteered at an organization (all figures from the study) (seventh-highest in the world).

Even though Indonesia is classified as a low-middle-income nation, it has a high level of charitable contributions.

List of the world’s least charitable countries, 2009-2018 and 2020.

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