Six most generous nations: US ties for fifth

3. Canada

David Cooper/Toronto Star/Newscom
Audrey Wilson of Toronto has been volunteering for the Red Cross for 54 years and was set to receive the organization's highest honor earlier this year.

In Canada:

• 64 percent donate.

• 35 percent volunteer.

• 68 percent help a stranger.

Canada’s World Giving Index (WGI) score – an average of these three percentages – was 56 percent, 1 percentage point higher than the US’s 55 percent.

Canadians' higher rank than Americans is based largely on their giving more money to charities. Canada has more government-led charity campaigns than the US, says Saxon-Harrold.

Looking at the region more generally, North Americans are most likely to help a complete stranger, averaging at 67 percent. Aiding a stranger is defined as aiding someone in need, whom you don't know, in any dollar amount.

CAFAmerica’s director of research Richard Harrison stressed that this poll does not measure the dollar value, but the scale and kind of charity that the global population is contributing.

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