Kiwis Are A Generous Kind Of Bird - It's Official

UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND

Media Release

Sept 9 2011

Kiwis Are A Generous Kind Of Bird - It's Official.

It's no surprise that the World Giving Index 2010 has found that New Zealanders are the most generous people in the world.

The index, which used data from an international Gallup poll, surveys how generous people are, in relation to their country's wealth. It takes into account how much people in different countries say they give to charity, how much they are prepared to help a stranger and the level of voluntary work they do.

New Zealand and Australia were at the top of the World Giving Index. Some considerably wealthier countries, such as Germany and Denmark were near the bottom.

"The index has confirmed what we already know about Kiwi generosity. New Zealanders know how to open their pockets. It's not surprising to hear that New Zealanders are the most generous people in the world," says UNICEF executive director Dennis McKinlay.

"UNICEF's appeal for victims of the Pakistan floods is a telling example. Despite the fact that Pakistan is almost on the other side of the world, the severe recession and the Christchurch earthquake, New Zealanders have shown they have deep pockets."

There are also many charities in New Zealand - nearly 25,000 according to the Charities Commission. "This huge number of charities compete with each other for money, but somehow, there seems to be enough to around."

"We have people on our books who have been donating for more than 40 years. Some of these people have just a small amount of money to spare - yet they genuinely live for others," he says.

"We couldn't exist without New Zealanders generosity," he says.

ENDS

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