The Philippines Is Among the World's Most Generous Countries, According to a Report

The Philippines has been recognized as among the world's most generous countries, according to the annual World Giving Index report of 2022. 

The World Giving Index is a report published annually since 2009 by U.K.-based Charities Aid Foundation or CAF. The first World Giving Index was published a year after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 to gain insight into people's generosity in times of crisis. 

"Now, this longrunning study has given us the opportunity to look not only at how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted giving around the world, but also how the global community is engaging with giving as we seek to establish a new sense of normalcy," the CAF writes in its 2022 report. 

Three measures were used to gauge generosity: Helping a Stranger, Donating Money, and Volunteering Time. These categories are then averaged to get the overall score for the most generous countries. 

In the 2022 edition of the World Giving Index, Indonesia topped the list of the world's most generous countries overall. It has consistently ranked high in all three categories of Helping a Stranger, Donating Money, and Volunteering Time. 

Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked 20th in the overall score for the world's most generous countries in 2022. However, it made the top 10 in the world's top countries who for volunteering time. It also ranked decently in helping strangers, ranking 15th in the world. 

But the Philippines ranked near the bottom of the index when it comes to donating money, placing 79th out of 119 countries, with a score of 29 percent. 

Below is a table showing the overall ranking of the world's most generous countries based on helping strangers, volunteering, and donating money. 

Overall Ranking for the World's Most Generous Countries in 2022

Photo by Mario Alvaro Limos.

World's Top Countries in Volunteering Time

Despite having a low score in donating money to help people and charities, the Philippines landed in top 6 when it comes to volunteering time. This was evident during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when the so-called "Community Pantries" began sprouting in neighborhoods across the country. 

The Community Pantry was an initiative by social worker Patricia Non. It was a modern-day bayanihan aimed at offering reprieves from lockdowns and COVID-19 hardships by providing free food donated by members of the community. 

Scenes at a Community Pantry in Quezon City, Philippines in April 2021

Photo by Jerome Ascano | Esquire Philippines.

Photo by Jerome Ascano | Esquire Philippines.

Photo by Jerome Ascano | Esquire Philippines.

Photo by Jerome Ascano | Esquire Philippines.

Photo by Jerome Ascano | Esquire Philippines.

Interestingly, the United States is the only high-income country to make it to the top 10 list of countries that volunteered time for others or for charitable activities.

Below is a table showing the top countries that volunteered time in 2021.

Top Countries for Volunteering Time Based on the World Giving Index 2022

Illustration by Mario Alvaro Limos.

Top Countries for Helping a Stranger

According to the World Giving Index 2022, Sierra Leone achieved the highest proportion of people (83 percent) who helped someone they did not know. It was closely followed by Venezuela (82 percent), Jamaica (80 percent) and the U.S. (80 percent). 

Filipinos are no strangers to helping someone they don't know too—with the Philippines scoring 75 percent and landing 15th place in the category. Mexico, which is in 10th place, has a score of 76 percent.

Cambodia and Japan were the countries with the lowest proportion of people who reported helping a stranger, scoring 23 percent and 24 percent respectively.

Below is a table of the world's top countries for helping a stranger based on the World Giving Index 2022. 

Top Countries for Helping a Stranger

Photo by Mario Alvaro Limos.

Top Countries for Donating Money

According to the World Giving Report 2022, more people than ever donated money to charity in 2021. Seven out of the top 10 countries for donating money are high-income countries: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States remained in the top 10 for this measure.

But two developing countries topped the list: Indonesia and Myanmar.

"Indonesia has the highest proportion of people (84 percent) who donated money to charity in the world. Myanmar follows in second place, with three out five (73%) adults donating money in 2021. widespread donating in both countries is due in large part to religious giving and community-based cultural traditions," reads the report

The Philippines ranked 79th out of 119 countries in the list. Below is a table showing the top 10 countries with the highest proportion of adults donating money to charitable causes and to other people. 

illustration by Mario Alvaro Limos.

Read the full report of the World Giving Index here.