Philippines No. 98 in generosity as Indonesia tops World Giving Index

The Philippines’ ranking in a global survey listing the most charitable countries in the world significantly dropped in 2023. 

From the 20th spot in 2022, the 2023 World Giving Index placed the Philippines as 98th out of 142 countries surveyed in terms of generosity.

Based on the survey conducted among 142 countries, Filipinos had an index score of 34, lower than the global score of 39. 

Fifty-seven percent of the respondents from the Philippines said they helped a stranger, 12% said they donated money to charities, and 34% volunteered time for an organization.

Indonesia topped the world ranking for the sixth straight year with an index score of 68. 

It was followed by Ukraine with 62, Kenya with 60, Liberia with 58, and the United States with 58. 

Poland ranked the lowest among the countries in the study with an index score of 15.

At least 147,186 respondents participated in the survey. 

The WGI measures the generosity of the respondents by examining three key aspects of giving behavior: donating money, helping a stranger, and volunteering for an organization. 

An average of the positive responses is calculated for each country to determine its index score and global ranking. A higher score indicates that more of the population is engaged in giving.

The WGI is undertaken by the Charities Aid Foundation, "a charity operating in the UK and internationally."

"The 2023 Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) World Giving Index gives us reasons for hopeful optimism against a backdrop of global instability," said CAF chief executive Neil Heslop, OBE.

"It shows that the increased generosity we saw as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic was broadly maintained at a global level. That means that almost three-quarters of humanity did something to help others in the course of 2022," he added on the CAF website.

"Now in its 13th year, CAF World Giving Index is one of the largest studies into giving and charitable activity ever undertaken, with millions of people now interviewed since 2009," Heslop said.

"This year we look particularly at insights on the role of religion in giving, the role of giving in happiness, and whether people who migrated have different giving habits," he added. —NB, GMA Integrated News