A table to be proud of - Singapore climbs 50 rungs on World Giving Index

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/singapore/singapore-climbs-50-rungs-world-giving-index-20131204

Singapore has scooted up 50 places to rank 64th on the World Giving Index, which sorts 135 countries worldwide based on how philanthropic its citizens are.

But even though the Republic's overall standing has improved, Singaporeans have been found to be one of the least likely people to help a stranger in need - coming in second-last on that measure, just slightly ahead of Cambodians.

The overall results, released yesterday by the British-based Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), show a significant improvement from the Republic's poor showing last year, when Singapore ranked 114th out of 146 countries surveyed.

The better performance in 2013 was largely due to the fact that Singaporeans have grown more generous with not just their money, but also with their time.

The index relies on a simple averaging of responses from three key questions asked in each country. These look at the triple gauges of giving:

1. the percentage of people who give money to charity, 
2. those who volunteer their time, and 
3. those who help a stranger in a typical month

Each country is then given an overall percentage score, and ranked on that basis.

When it comes to giving money, Singaporeans fare well, ranking 17th in the world. Based on this year's survey findings, more than half (55 per cent) of Singaporeans donate money to causes in a given month. This marks a substantial climb from the year before, where only 29 per cent gave to charity.

Singaporeans have also become more willing to invest their time in a cause - 17 per cent volunteered, up nine percentage points from the previous year. Based on this metric, Singapore ranks 75th worldwide.

But in terms of more informal giving mechanisms, Singapore lags far behind other countries. Less than a quarter (24 per cent) of Singaporeans helped a stranger in need - unchanged from last year. That puts the Republic in second-last place worldwide.

Even with its improved scores - which are in line with the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre's (NVPC) recent research into giving trends here - Singapore continues to fare worse than its regional counterparts. Some have made it to 2013's top 20 list: Myanmar and the Philippines were ranked second and 16th respectively, while Hong Kong and Indonesia tied at 17th place.