10 Best Countries for Helping Strangers According to World Giving Index 2013

The World Giving Index (WGI) 2013 creates a unique opportunity to evaluate how people give around the globe. We’ve explored how countries and cities compare on the world’s stage previously in blog posts like best country to live, smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for child well-being, the best countries from social progress, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries, the least corrupt countries, the countries with the best reputation, the best countries for ease of doing business, the best countries for starting a business, the best country for business, the best country for customer satisfaction, the most gay positive country, the best countries with the most competitive economies, the best countries for entrepreneurship, the most sustainable countries, the best countries to grow old, the best country brand, the most youthful cities, the best cities to live for opportunity, the best countries for business, the most sustainable countries, the most prosperous countries, the best global cities for quality of living and the best North American cities for quality of living.

We already delved into the WGI when we featured the 10 most charitable countries and the 10 best countries for donating money and today we’re taking a closer look with the 10 best countries for helping strangers.

Charities Aid Foundation‘s (CAF), a leading UK charity, is the publisher of the WGI which was based primarily on information from the Gallup’s World View World Poll and “includes data from 135 countries across the globe that was collected throughout the calendar year of 2012” from approximately 1,000 questionnaires. Helping strangers was one of the categories used to determine a countries overall WGI score. Based on this data collection, the 10 best countries for helping strangers are:

• 1) United States of America Helping a stranger score (%): 77
• 2) Qatar – Helping a stranger score (%): 73
• 3) State of Libya – Helping a stranger score (%): 72
• 4) Columbia – Helping a stranger score (%): 70
• 5) Senegal – Helping a stranger score (%): 68
• 6) Cameroon – Helping a stranger score (%): 67
• 6) New Zealand – Helping a stranger score (%): 67
• 8) Nigeria – Helping a stranger score (%): 66
• 9) Costa Rica – Helping a stranger score (%): 65
• 9) Kenya – Helping a stranger score (%): 65
• 9) Syria – Helping a stranger score (%): 65
• 9) United Kingdom – Helping a stranger score (%): 65

This year’s list marks a shift as Costa Rica, Nigeria, Senegal, Syria, the State of Libya and the United Kingdom are all new to the top 10 – Senegal actually rose from 51st to 5th! The UK is the only European country in the top 10.

When it comes to the genders, “there has been a marked increase in the likelihood of both men and women helping strangers” with 48.6% of men and 45.8% of women extending themselves. “In both cases, the increase is in the region of two percentage points.”

It’s unfortunate Canada did not make the top 10 but it is encouraging that there are so many new “faces” and that all of them boast scores over 50%. Maybe the world is nicer than we give it credit. Not Canada mind you. And I thought we were the nice ones…go figure.

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