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September 09, 2010 at 08:00 PM
The U.S. and Switzerland rank fifth in a new review of the state of giving in 153 countries released Charities Aid Foundation America (CAFAmerica) on Wednesday, September 8. The ” World Giving Index 2010 ” is the first survey on a large scale to capture information about charitable behavior in countries representing 95% of the globe’s population, including some that have not been included in previous surveys on giving, according to a statement from CAFAmerica.
The index, compiled from data in an ongoing international Gallup survey, ranked countries in three categories:
? Percentage of the population that donated to a charity. Malta ranked first with 83%.
? Percentage of the population that volunteered time to an organization. Turkmenistan was first with 61%.
? Percentage of the population that helped a complete stranger or someone they did not know who needed help. Liberia ranked first with 76%.
In the three categories, 60% in the U.S. gave to an organization, 39% volunteered time and 65% were willing to help a complete stranger.
The overall index score for each country was calculated by adding the percentages of all three charitable acts together and dividing by three. Very few countries demonstrated low scores in all three charitable behaviors covered by the survey, the statement said. The index ranked Australia and New Zealand as the most charitable nations in the world overall, followed by Ireland and Canada in third and fourth place, respectively.
“When it comes to philanthropy, Americans do a lot–and can always do more,” Janet Boyd, CAFAmerica’s president, said in the statement. “This survey highlights the need to engage workers in volunteering via the corporate sector, young people by new social media channels, and older Americans by means that are both comfortable and familiar to them. In my view, no one should take a critical view of the U.S. fifth place rank in this report for a variety of reasons, but that also does not mean that we should be complacent as a nation when there is so much more that can be done.”
