Human Rights Maps (118): World Giving Index, a Map of Charity

(source, this is the version of 2010, click image to enlarge)

The World Giving Index offers a view of charitable behavior worldwide reflecting the fact that being charitable is about more than simply giving money. (In case you’re wondering about the link between charity and human rights, go here).

The Index is based on three types of charitable behavior – giving money to an organization, volunteering time to an organization and helping a stranger. The map above reflects the way the world looks based upon the charitable behavior of each country’s population and shows their ranking in the Index. The size of the circle reflects the World Giving Index percentage score and the number is its ranking on the World Giving Index.

The top 21 most generous countries, in order, are:

1. Australia
1. New Zealand
3. Ireland
3. Canada
5. Switzerland
5. United States
7. Netherlands
8. Britain
8. Sri Lanka
10 Austria
11. Lao People’s Democratic Republic
11. Sierra Leone
13. Malta
14. Iceland
14. Turkmenistan
16. Guyana
16. Qatar
18. Hong Kong
18. Germany
18. Denmark
18. Guinea

The incidence of giving money to charity ranges from as low as 4% in Lithuania to as high as 83% in Malta. Incidence of volunteering lies in a range from 2% in Cambodia to 61% in Turkmenistan. Each country has its own way to give. In Liberia, less than one tenth (8%) of the population give money to charity every month. Yet over three-quarters (76%) of Liberians help a stranger every month, more than any other country in the world. Overall, 20% of the world’s population had volunteered time in the month prior to interview, 30% of the world’s population had given money to charity, and 45% of the world’s population had helped a stranger.

Giving money to charity increases with age, largely explained by changes in disposable income. Women are generally more likely to give than men, but only just barely – 30 percent versus 29 percent. Religious affiliation is correlated with higher levels of giving. And within countries, those with higher wealth tend to give relatively less than those with lower wealth, paradoxically.

More on charity and poverty. More human rights maps.

Related Articles

• Canada ranked second most charitable in the world (theglobeandmail.com)
• Ireland comes third in World Giving Index (politics.ie)
• The Most Generous Countries on Earth (economix.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Australia, NZ top ‘giving’ index (bbc.co.uk)
• ‘World Giving Index’ measures charity in 153 nations (theglobeandmail.com)
• “US Fifth Most Giving Country in the World, China 147th” and related posts (tonic.com)