Canadians are known to be pretty giving people. But just how generous are we?
Well, there’s a super extensive annual study that can answer that down to every last measurable statistic. Every year, the CAF World Giving Index publishes a document that quantifies global giving. It ranks countries by averaging the percentage of its people who donated money, volunteered, or helped a stranger in the previous month, covering 96 per cent of the world’s population.
According to these three metrics and all of their respective indicators combined, Canada is the fourth most generous country in the world, with 60 per cent of us having given back in some capacity over the past year. This is two per cent higher than our five-year score of 58 per cent, which puts us in a four-way tie with Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Not too shabby.
The most giving nation in the world is Myanmar (66 per cent), which takes the top spot for both donating money and volunteering. An astonishing 90 per cent of people in Myanmar donate money, which can be largely attributed to Sangha Dana-practicing Theravada Buddhists. The people of Iraq, meanwhile, are the most willing to help a stranger (79%), the top 10 for which features some of the world’s poorest countries.
Photo: CAF
After Myanmar, the United States has been determined to be the second-most generous country. New Zealand is sandwiched between us and the U.S. in third place. Sri Lanka, Kenya, Guatemala, and Bhutan all scored in the top 20 despite high levels of poverty.
Other key findings of the index include:
– Participation in donating money and helping a stranger has risen this year, whilst volunteering has seen a small downturn.
– For the first time in six years of the World Giving Index, men are more likely to donate money than women.
– Behaviour in a few very large countries has significantly impacted the numbers of people giving worldwide.
– Cultural and religious practices, as well as disruptive events, are at the root of a number of big changes seen this year.
– Despite their highly developed economies, only five G20 countries are in this year’s top 20, reminding us that economic prosperity does not automatically lead to a rise in generosity.
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