Giving: U.S. ranks high on World Giving Index

The World Giving Index, a survey of 135 countries and their charity habits, was released last month. How does the United States fare?

The good news: The U.S. hit the top of the list for helping a stranger in need, with 77 percent of respondents saying they'd been a good Samaritan in the past month.

The U.S. ranked third in volunteerism, with 45 percent of respondents saying they had volunteered in their communities.

But when it came to the percentage of people donating money to charities, 12 countries did better than we did.

The No. 1 and 2 spots went to Myanmar, with 85 percent of folks reporting they donated, and the United Kingdom, with 76 percent. That compares to 62 percent of Americans surveyed.

The survey was based on three questions in a Gallup poll of 1,000 people in each country. It asked about three forms of giving — with money, volunteerism and "helping strangers."

Combining all three forms of charity, the U.S. came in number one, followed respectively by three second-place winners — Canada, New Zealand and Myanmar.

• Women are more likely to donate money than men.

• Men and women volunteer at roughly the same rates.

• Men helping strangers was one of the biggest growth areas.

The survey found that charitable giving in developing countries was growing, even outpacing the U.S. Unexpected on the list: The people of Thailand took fifth place in donating money to charities, at 70 percent, and those in Indonesia, ranked 12, at 63 percent.

People donate for different reasons, the report said. Take the case of Myanmar.

Find the report at www.cafonline.org.