Egypt has ranked 112th out of 145 countries participating in the CAF World Giving Index 2015, crushing the common local belief that Egyptians are the "most generous", though it has improved from the ranking of 120 in 2014.
The report was released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) based on surveys conducted throughout 2014 by market research firm Gallup.
The results are based on a percentage score of people's responses to three key questions:
– Have you helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help?
– Have you donated money to a charity?
– Have you volunteered your time to an organization?
Non-Arab countries came out on top, with Myanmar ranking first, followed by the United States, New Zealand and Canada.
The report attributed religious practices for changes in the index. This is one of the reasons Myanmar ranked so well, as the impact of Theravada Buddhism has influenced how generous people in that country are. Religious holidays in other parts of the world have also impacted the index.
The report explained that Muslim populations are responsible for a significant improvement in world rankings this year for Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
“Both countries were surveyed either during or just after Ramadan, when generosity is particularly encouraged, and both countries experienced a year-on-year increase for all three ways of giving, but most notably donating money,” the report said.
Middle-Eastern countries lagged behind in the overall ranking, with the United Arab Emirates ranking 14th, followed by Kuwait and Iraq.
Conversely, Arab countries shined when it came to helping strangers, as Iraq ranked first in that department despite continuing security concerns in the country. Kuwait ranked 7th, Saudi Arabia ranked 9th and Egypt ranked 80th in that category.
Meanwhile, UAE seemed to be the biggest donor in the Middle East, as it ranked 15th in the financial donations list, while Bahrain ranked 27th and Egypt ranked 111th.
Despite the overwhelming number of charities in the Middle East, Arab countries seemed have no time for volunteering, as they marked low on the volunteering time list, with South Sudan ranked 57th, Sudan ranked 58th, UAE ranked 60th and Egypt ranked 135th.
The report pointed out that participation levels for donating money have increased across all world economy types, compared to marginal declines in giving money between 2012 and 2013 in developed and developing economies.
With regards to generosity and gender, women in developed economies are still considered more generous, overall, than men, though men have stepped up over the years.
“The differential has narrowed to the smallest gap ever recorded by the World Giving Index. This, combined with the already higher participation level of men in both transitioning and developing economies, means that, at a global level, men are now marginally ahead of women in terms of donating money,” the report said.
