Nepal ranked 39th in World Giving Index 2016

Kathmandu, October 26

Nepal stands 39th in the World Giving Index, 2016 commissioned by UK-based Charities Aid Foundation in terms of generosity of its people, rising from 76th in 2015.

The findings show Nepal jumped 37 spots to secure 39th position with a score of 42 per cent, leaving behind Afghanistan (78th), India (91th), Pakistan (92nd), Bangladesh (94th) in South Asia of 140 countries surveyed as part of the Gallup World Poll. It means 42 per cent of Nepalis are generous and charitable.

Myanmar (1st) has again topped the global index of charitable behaviour for the third year running, followed by USA and Australia while China (140th), world’s biggest economy, is a country with least generous people in the overall rankings with a score of 11 per cent.

“As our highest ranked nation Myanmar shows, wealth is not necessarily the decisive factor when it comes to generosity,” it said.

Despite remarkable progress, Nepal is far behind Sri Lanka (5th) and Bhutan (18th) in South Asia. According to the report, Nepal achieved its highest ranking this year and is one of the most improved countries. This increase in results followed the devastating earthquakes in 2015.

The World Giving Index, now in its seventh year, is a leading authority on global generosity. It is scored by averaging the percentage of people in each country who donated money, volunteered or helped a stranger in the previous months.

“Nepal has risen through the ranks to achieve its highest ranking. There is a 12 percentage point increase in donating money, which is likely due in part to the Nepal earthquakes occurred in April and May 2015, around a month before the interviewing took place.

This may also account for an eight percentage point increase in both helping a stranger and volunteering time for this country. This is a similar trend to countries where we have seen disasters previously and goes to show the generosity of people in times of adversity,” read the report.