3-1 World Giving Index
Last updated
Last updated
The UK charity organization (CAF) has released the 2021 World Giving Index. Based on a survey and analysis of the donating behavior of 114 countries in 2020, the index is calculated based on the average percentage of people who answered "yes" when asked if the following was performed during the past month
1 they had helped a stranger
2 given financial donations
3 volunteered their resources
Korea's donation index was 22 points, ranking 110th out of 114 countries. Compared to the previous survey in 2018, which was 34 points and ranked 60th among 145 countries, it has dropped significantly. In fact, the current survey showed that the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the donating behavio
r of countries. Most notably, the rankings of Western European countries, which have consistently been in the top ranks, have declined significantly. The research team said, "The rankings of the United States, Ireland, and the Netherlands, which have consistently been in the top 10, have declined significantly, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda have taken their place." They also explained that "Among the top 10 countries, only Australia and New Zealand are high-income countries, and their scores have also decreased from before."
The country with the highest donation index is Indonesia, with a score of 69 points. Indonesia also ranked first in 2018, but its score was 10 points lower than in 2020, at 59 points. This means that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people participating in donations and volunteer work increased. The reason why Indonesia boasts such a high donation index is "religion, tradition, and education". Indonesia is predominantly Muslim and practices Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, which is to help the poor and provide for the community. In addition, the spirit of "Gotong Royong", which means to work together, is deeply rooted in Indonesian culture, and education that teaches people to help those in need is a driving force behind the high donation index.
Following Indonesia, the top 10 countries are Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar, Australia, Ghana, New Zealand, Uganda, Costa Rica, and Thailand. A common feature among these countries is that they are located in Asia-Pacific and Africa, where the number of Covid-19 deaths is relatively low.
Unfortunately, South Korea is included in the bottom 10 countries within the donation index. Belgium, which ranked 39th in 2018, has dropped to 112th, Italy, which ranked 68th, has dropped to 111th, France, which ranked 72nd, has dropped to 106th, and Portugal, which ranked 83rd, has dropped to 113th. This can be indicative of the impact that Covid-19 has caused, affecting the donation index of European countries. Japan, which ranked 128th (out of 145 countries) in 2018 and had a relatively low donation index, was the only country in the 10-point range in the 2020 survey, avoiding the unfortunate shame other countries have faced.
