WE MAY BE in receipt of a bit of charity from the EU and IMF but it turns out Ireland is the second most giving nation in the world, according to a new suvey.
The World Giving Index ranks Ireland first in Europe and second in the world for giving, up one place from last year’s rankings which are determined by measuring a nation’s charitable behaviour in terms of giving money, volunteering time and helping a stranger.
Ireland increased its overall score from 56 per cent to 59 per cent.
Only the United States trumps Ireland which is trailed by Australia, New Zealand and the UK in the survey carried out by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) which aims to motivate society to give more.
Ireland is ranked first for helping a stranger with 65 per cent of those surveyed saying they had done just that in the previous month.
We come third in the world for giving money with 75 per cent of Irish people donating to charity while 38 per cent volunteered their time each month.
Despite the global economic crisis, the world is actually giving more according to CAF. In 2010, the global average of the three giving behaviours was 31.6 per cent but this rose in 2011 to 32.4 per cent.
CAF also points out: “Like the USA, Ireland has risen up the World Giving Index rankings despite being one of the countries hardest hit by the global economic downturn.”
The survey also found that women were more generous than men when it came to donating money to charity but men tended to give more of their time.
Older people – those over 50 – scored a greater percentage when it came to volunteering and giving money than younger people.
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