based on how charitable their population is.

So, which countries have the most generous populations?

Well, ranking third on the 2016 World Giving Index is Australia.

As a developed, high income country, Australians tend to surpass most of the world in charity,

and regularly rank alongside their neighbor, New Zealand.

Most often, donations are sent to humanitarian services, particularly helping those with

health issues and disabilities, contributing to medical research, and community service.

Roughly a third of donations are to the organizations like the Red Cross.

Additionally, statistics show that Australians tend to give more as they get older, which

is also generally true around the world.

The second most charitable country is the United States.

Roughly 63% of the population claims to donate money to charity on a regular basis, with

nearly three quarters of those surveyed saying they had recently helped a stranger.

In fact, helping a stranger is the most common way to be charitable world-wide.

And while the survey showed that Americans are actually helping strangers at a 3 percent

lower rate than in the previous year, volunteering has jumped 2%.

Additionally, in terms of total donations, the US gives more and more each year.

Between 2010 and 2015, GDP rose at a rate of about 2%, while charitable giving rose

at 3.6%, and in 2015 Americans donated in total roughly 373 billion dollars.

In particular, high net worth households primarily donate to education, basic needs organizations,

arts funding, health, and religious institutions.

But perhaps the most interesting model for charitable giving, and the number one spot

on the list, is the tiny country of Myanmar.

Its population is poor, with a per capita GDP of just $1,200.

To compare, the US’s per capita GDP is closer to $56,000 dollars.

Yet over the past five years, Myanmar has, on average, ranked higher than any other country

in the world, by a huge margin.

More than 9 out of ten people in Myanmar recently donated money, and both volunteering and helping

strangers went up from the previous year.

The reason Myanmar is so charitable largely has to do with religion.

Between 80 and 90% of people in Myanmar practice a branch of Buddhism called “Theravada”.

Within this branch is an important practice called “Sangha Dana”, loosely meaning

“giving to a community”.

It is believed that this giving will influence and improve the giver’s chances of having

a better life when they are reincarnated, another aspect of this belief system.

This giving is coupled with a monastic lifestyle, with few luxuries, generally encouraging followers

to donate whatever they have, whenever they can, be it money, possessions, or time.

Although there is plenty of conflict around the world, globally charitable giving has

increased over the previous few years.

Some countries rank highly due to cultural priorities, others do well in the face of

extreme adversity.

Countries like Libya and Syria may be dealing with violent conflict, but have also seen

huge numbers of people helping each other, and donating what little they have to others.

2016 was the first time in the World Giving Index’s history where the survey showed

that more than half of people globally had recently helped a stranger, pointing to the

growing globalization and interconnectedness of the 21st century.

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So, where are the biggest donations actually coming from?

And from who?

You can learn more about philanthropy, and its value here.

While Bill Gates is perhaps the best known philanthropist he is not the most generous.

It is in fact, business magnate Warren Buffet.

He began the recent trend of donating the bulk of one's entire fortunes to charity.

In 2006, Buffet pledged nearly all of his then $44 billion estate to the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation.

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