AUSTRALIANS are more likely than most to give charitably, according to a worldwide report by UK-based Charities Aid Foundation.
The report is the largest of its kind into charitable giving.
According to the World Giving Index, 70 per cent of Australians have given money to a cause while 38 per cent have donated time and 64 per cent have helped a stranger.
On average Australian taxpayers give 0.54 per cent of their taxable income to charitable donations.
New Zealand ranked equal first on average, with 68 per cent reporting giving money, 41 per cent time and 63 per cent helping a stranger.
Malta was found to be the country with the largest percentage of the population (83 per cent) giving money, the population of Liberia was most generous with its time with 76 per cent having given time to charity, while Turkmenistan was top of the list for helping a stranger (62 per cent).
“Australians have a long and deserved reputation for giving and it is rewarding to see that against international giving trends,” CAF Australia chief executive Don Willesee said.
The World Giving Index surveyed 153 countries representing 95 per cent of the world’s population and compared the strength of the relationship between giving with both a nation’s GDP and the happiness of its population.