Indonesia Again Becomes the Most Generous Country

The existence of generosity is a constant in society. The World Giving Index offers a unique insight into people's engagement in social activities for the benefit of the community and champions the growth of global generosity. The study by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organisation in the UK, looked at three aspects of giving behaviour and asked: "have you done any of the following in the last month?" to respondents in 142 countries to help a stranger or someone unknown in need; donate money to a charity; and donate time to an organisation.

Some findings in 2023 from the results of the World Giving Index Report. First, religious people have a higher giving index because religious institutions and organisations play an important role in charity and helping others, raising funds, or volunteering. The biggest gap is found in Sub-Saharan Africa (41 vs. 35), while in Europe there is no difference between the index scores of the two groups (38 each). Second, immigrants donate more than nationals, which is most pronounced in the Middle East, North Africa (41 vs 33) and Europe (44 vs 37). Third, generosity is linked to life satisfaction with seven of the top ten Giving Index scoring countries tending to have above average levels of happiness, according to the UN World Happiness report, compared to the bottom Giving Index scoring countries.

Indonesia came in first place with an average score of 68, with the breakdown of scores including helping others with a score of 61%, donating money with a score of 82% and volunteering with a score of 61%. Some of the factors that influence Indonesia as a generous country are due to the contribution of philanthropic institutions to overcome the funding gap in achieving sustainable development goals and to reduce the impact of climate change in Indonesia, as well as the deep-rooted culture of collaboration through the Indonesian tradition of "Gotong Royong".

A country's Giving Index score is not far from the role of Diaspora Giving, which is the flow of money back to the country of origin from people who have moved abroad with the aim of sending it to their families or communities. Forms of Diaspora Giving include economic contributions, knowledge transfer, professional skills, and support in the national development of their home country. Results from the survey show that migrating citizens are more generous with a global Giving Index score of 43 compared to sedentary citizens with a score of 39.

The global generosity score in 2023 saw a 1% decrease in the average Giving Index score from the previous year. This shows that the level of generosity seen during the pandemic is still maintained and does not immediately reduce the intensity of individuals to donate even though the pandemic is over.