Nepal Among The Most Generous in South Asia: Study

The World Giving Index 2010 finds a strong connection between happiness and giving.


An interesting study, and the first of its kind conducted by the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation has ranked Nepal as one of the most generous in South Asia. TheWorld Giving Index 2010 puts Nepal second on the list of the most generous countries among the South Asian nations.

Although globally Nepal is 100th among the 153 surveyed countries, it leads India (134), Pakistan (142), Banbladesh (146) and even China (147) in the region. The study reveals that 22 percent of Nepalis are willing and able to give money to those in need, 21 percent offer volunteering time, and 30 percent help strangers in need.

Nepal's such standing comes as a surprise given the strife-torn country's poor and dwindling economy, as compared to its neighbors, the economic giants like India or China.

Sri Lanka ranks the highest in South Asia, and 8th in the world, where 58 percent give money, 52 percent volunteer their time and 50 percent help a stranger. These figures for India are 14 percent, 12 percent and 30 percent, and for Pakistan are 20 perecent, 8 percent, and 20 percent respectively. Only 12 percent of Bangladeshis give money, 5 percent volunteer their time and 29 percent help a stranger. For China, these figures are 14 percent, 11 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

The 10 top scoring countries are Australia (57 percent), New Zealand (57), Ireland (56), Canada (56), Switzerland (55), USA (55), Netherlands (54), United Kingdom (53), Sri Lanka (53), and Austria (52).

The report says that on average, a third (33 percent) of the population of South Asia helped a stranger in the last month - the lowest regional level found. The region came higher up in terms of giving money (tenth) and volunteering time (ninth).

The report notes that there are also some positives for the region, Sri Lanka ranks second in the world for volunteering time with just over half of the population, 52 percent, having done so and appears at number eight on the World Giving Index.

The survey studied generosity in terms of three factors-- Donation of money, time as volunteer and helping a stranger. It was based on March 2010 data from Gallup's WorldView World Poll, an ongoing research project carried out in 153 countries that together represent around 95% of the world's population. It asked people if they donated money to another organization in the past month, if they volunteered time to an organization and if they helped a stranger or someone they didn't know who needed help.

This report reveals the sheer variety and complexity of ways in which individuals contribute to their communities in 153 countries around the world. Enormous variation is seen in how countries and regions 'give'. Charitable behavior differs immensely across the globe. An act that is considered charitable in one country may be seen as a regular, everyday, activity in another.

The report concludes "happy" nations are more likely to give than "wealthy" nations. The survey also suggests happier people are more likely to give than wealthy people as satisfaction proves a stronger influence than wealth. The survey showed that the link between the giving of money and happiness is stronger than the link between the giving of money and the GDP of a nation. Giving is more an emotional act than a rational one. Those who donate are likely to help improve the happiness of others, who in turn may be more likely to give to charity and so on.

A connection missing in the survey, especially in light of its correlation on happiness and giving, is the exclusion of Bhutan in the 153 countries that were studied. It would be interesting to find out the patterns of generosity in Bhutan, the only country in the world that champions Gross National Happiness.

The World Giving Index 2010 says that the ranking of the countries underlines that the countries whose citizens 'give' the most are not necessarily the countries that might have been expected. Based on an average of their giving of money, volunteering and helping strangers, around half of the 20 most charitable countries might be seen as traditional economic 'powerhouses', but around half (countries such as Guinea, Guyana and Turkmenistan) almost certainly would not.

The WGI 2001 data also shows that that globally, the older we are, the more we tend to give (although this trend is reversed in some specific emerging and developing countries). However, in most regions, people are least likely to help a stranger when over 50.

Global patterns in volunteering vary greatly by region and by country. For example, volunteering soars in North America through the lifestages; 34 percent of North Americans aged 15-24 had volunteered in the previous month, but almost double that number - 76 percent of those aged over 50 - had done so. In terms of gender, women are marginally more likely to give money than men (30 percent versus 29 percent). Men, however, are marginally more likely to volunteer, and to help a stranger.

Dr John Low, chief executive of Charities Aid Foundation writes in the foreward that up until now very little data on this topic has existed, and certainly nothing on the scale of this report, which is the largest project of its kind, analysing the charitable behaviour of 95 percent of the world's population.

However, the index warns that the Charities Aid Foundation "is strongly of the view that appearing higher or lower on the list is not necessarily a reflection of the health of a society or the goodwill of its people".

> See the full report here. 

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