British generosity is among best in world

THE UK has been ranked among the most generous nations in the world, after a study found that six out of 10 people have helped a stranger in the past month.

The research, which took place over a decade, surveyed 1.3million people in 128 countries.

It reveals that, despite a growing culture of charitable giving across dozens of countries, there has been a downward trend in thoughtful behaviour in some of the world’s wealthiest places.

However, the report, commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation, found that the UK now appears seventh in the worldwide rankings.

Researchers found that in the UK, 60 per cent of people surveyed had helped a stranger in the four weeks before being interviewed, 71 per cent had given money to charity in the month before the survey and 30 per cent had volunteered their time to help a good cause within the same period.

The countries that topped the global rankings above the UK were: the United States, Myanmar (Burma), New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Canada. At the bottom of the table, ranked lowest in terms of generosity, were: the State of Palestine, Serbia, Yemen and Greece. China was ranked the least generous of all nations.

The World Giving Index 2019 asked if people had helped a stranger, given money or volunteered for a good cause over the past month. The report identifies the 10 most generous countries over the decade of research, along with the 10 least generous. It also lists the biggest risers over the course of the study and those countries that have dropped the most during that time.

This year’s tenth World Giving Index report examined data for each country between 2009 and 2018 to capture longer term trends. However despite the scale of generosity, the report also identifies a recent downward trend in donations in key countries with long histories of philanthropy and household charitable giving. These include the UK, the US, Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands, where levels of individual giving are now lower than they were in the aftermath of the financial crisis.