Global Giving in 2024 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1201

Global Giving in 2024 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1201

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1201 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

Credit: Julia M. Cameron

Credit: Suraphat Neau-on

Preamble

This blog post is based on the World Giving Index (WGI) 2024 insights from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), the most recent edition of the report before it evolves into the broader World Giving Report series. Link here. https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/inside-giving/wgi/wgi_2024_report.pdf?utm_source=INSEAD+Knowledge&utm_campaign=ec3c1e7345-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_17_10_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ec3c1e7345-250254070 

Global Generosity in 2024: What the World Giving Index Reveals About Human Kindness

In a world facing economic uncertainty, climate crises, conflict, and widening inequality, one profound human truth remains remarkably resilient: people help each other. The World Giving Index (WGI) 2024, compiled by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), based in the UK, offers a rare and expansive snapshot of global generosity, tracking how billions of people across more than 140 countries engage in acts of giving and kindness.

Since its first publication in 2010 following the global financial crisis, the WGI has become a key resource for understanding how ordinary people respond to social need through charity, volunteerism, and everyday acts of compassion. In 2024, the report captures data from Gallup World Poll surveys to reveal encouraging trends, even as the world grapples with multiple challenges.

What the World Giving Index Measures and Why It Matters

At the heart of the WGI are three simple questions about behavior in the past month:

1. Have you helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help?

2. Have you donated money to a charity?

3. Have you volunteered your time to an organization?

Responses to these three actions are averaged to produce each country’s giving score, with higher scores indicating greater levels of reported generosity.

Together, these behaviors form a broad measure of individual generosity, capturing everything from daily acts of kindness to sustained civic engagement. By tracking changes over time and comparing across countries, the WGI shines a light on global trends in human solidarity, social connectedness, and civic action.

A Record-High Index Score: Generosity Holds Strong in 2024

One of the standout findings of the 2024 report is that global generosity, as measured by the WGI score, reached levels not seen since the pandemic years. Around 73–75 % of the world’s population reported having engaged in at least one generous act in the past month: helping a stranger, donating money, or volunteering time.

Additionally, a record 4.3 billion people were reported to have participated in one of these actions, a testament to the scale of human willingness to help others even amid ongoing economic and humanitarian pressures.

Who Are the Most Generous Countries and What It Tells Us

For the seventh consecutive year, Indonesia was named the most generous country in the world, reflecting exceptionally high levels of charitable behavior across all three indicators. In Indonesia, roughly 90 % of people donated money to charity, and 65 % reported volunteering their time, figures that far exceed many other nations.

Kenya and Singapore took second and third place, respectively, with Kenya rising in rank and Singapore making a notable leap thanks to increased volunteering and donation activity.

Other countries rounding out the top 10 include The Gambia, Nigeria, the United States, Ukraine, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Malta, a mix of high-, middle-, and low-income nations.

Following important themes emerge from these rankings:

Generosity Transcends Wealth – Notably, only two of the top ten generous nations in 2024 were among the world’s largest economies (Indonesia and the United States). Meanwhile, lower-income countries like The Gambia placed among the top ranks. This challenges common assumptions that philanthropy is strictly a function of wealth and suggests that cultural, social, and relational factors, such as community solidarity, religious practices, or historical norms, play a crucial role in driving generous actions.

Cultural and Social Context Matter – Countries with strong traditions of mutual aid, community support, or collective responsibility often score high in the index. For example, Indonesia’s culture of “gotong royong” (collective cooperation) has long been cited as a factor in its strong giving record. Similarly, nations that have experienced recent humanitarian crises, such as Morocco after the 2023 earthquakes, saw dramatic increases in giving behaviors, particularly monetary donations and volunteering.

Regional Trends and Shifts: What Changed in 2024

Beyond the rankings, the 2024 report highlights several noteworthy trends:

Global Improvement in Generosity – Out of more than 140 countries surveyed, around 75 nations improved their overall generosity score compared to previous years. This broad upward movement is especially meaningful when placed against a backdrop of global economic strain, cost-of-living pressures, and ongoing geopolitical instability.

Variance in Giving Behaviors – While overall generosity was high, the composition of giving, that is, whether people were more likely to help strangers, donate money, or volunteer time, varied across regions and countries.

For example, some countries saw particularly high rates of helping strangers even if formal volunteering remained low, while others demonstrated significant increases in monetary donations following high-impact events or policy incentives.

These differences show that generosity is multi-dimensional and influenced by local contexts, not captured fully by a single measure.

What Drives Global Giving?

The WGI data also offers clues about the underlying drivers of generosity.

Social and Cultural Norms: Norms around altruism and mutual support can motivate behavior independently of economic circumstances. Many of the highest scoring countries share strong norms around community responsibility and collective care.

Crisis Response and Human Need: Humanitarian crises often catalyze generosity, as seen in rapid increases in giving following natural disasters, conflict, or displacement. In these moments, ordinary citizens step forward to respond to urgent needs.

Policy and Civil Society Ecosystems: Public policies that support civil society organizations, tax incentives for giving, and active volunteer infrastructure can help translate generous impulses into sustained action, as seen in places like Singapore, where institutional frameworks support individual generosity.

Personal Well-Being and Social Cohesion: Research external to WGI suggests that individuals who report higher life satisfaction or stronger social connectedness are more likely to engage in giving behaviors, pointing to a feedback loop where generosity may support well-being as well as vice versa.

Sum Up

The WGI 2024 highlights a deep truth: generosity is widespread and resilient, even in times of challenge. That insight offers hope, and practical implications for how we build more inclusive, supportive societies.

The World Giving Index 2024 reminds us that generosity remains a defining feature of human life, one that transcends borders, income levels, and cultural differences. Amid global challenges, people continue to step forward, support others, and renew faith in our collective capacity to care.

While the index captures only snapshots of behavior, it points to something deeper: generosity is not a luxury of affluent societies, nor merely a response to crisis; it is a foundation of social life, sustained by everyday acts of kindness and solidarity that bind communities together around the world.

Concluded.

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