Jamaicans are the most likely people in the world to help a stranger, according to the World Happiness Gallup Report 2025.
The report, which draws on data from the Gallup World Poll (2022–2024) and the World Risk Poll (2019), ranked Jamaica number one globally for helping a stranger. The country placed 73rd overall on the broader Cantril Ladder of happiness but topped the world in spontaneous acts of kindness toward unfamiliar individuals.
In the same table, Jamaica ranked 9th for donating and 77th for volunteering, while it placed 103rd in the category measuring the likelihood that a lost wallet would be returned by the police.
The report ranked Jamaica ahead of Liberia and Sierra Leone, which also showed high levels of willingness to help others in need. However, while these countries top the list for interpersonal generosity, they lag significantly behind in charitable donations. Jamaica, Liberia, and Sierra Leone each sit more than 80 places lower in the global rankings for contributions to formal charities.
Similar patterns were found in Nigeria and Kenya, which both appear in the top ten for helping strangers but fall near the bottom when it comes to financial contributions to organisations.
The Gallup report suggests this contrast is rooted in levels of institutional trust — or lack thereof. The study noted that citizens in these countries often have low expectations for fair returns when interacting with the police or other formal systems.
“There are a few countries where the ranking for helping strangers is very high, while the ranking for donating to charity is very low,” the report stated. “Jamaica, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are in the top ranks for helping strangers but have donation rankings that are 80 or more places lower. Nigeria and Kenya, also in the top ten for helping strangers, provide a less extreme contrast, but still rank much higher for helping strangers than for donating.”
The report adds that in societies where institutional structures are weak, people often turn to one another for support rather than relying on organisations that may lack reach or accountability.
“People generally want to help others and are likely to choose the best means available,” the report continued. “Where institutional structures are weak, helping strangers in need probably represents a far more effective channel than donations to charities.”
Researchers note that in such environments, charities tend to be fewer and less likely to have the efficient and credible systems that support large-scale benevolence in wealthier nations.
In places like Jamaica, this has given rise to a distinct culture of person-to-person generosity — where kindness and assistance are offered directly, often through human connection rather than formal charity.
The report concludes that in these societies, generosity and goodwill are not just moral values but practical acts of trust and solidarity — tangible ways citizens support one another in the absence of strong institutional frameworks.
