Infographic: China nears bottom of list in World Giving Index

Although I would like to see their methods for their stats. I know this looks like I'm taking side but I don't trust these agencies either. They may have some ulterior motives too.

LOLZ you dudes are funny. Just admit it and maybe try to improve. Personally I donated some money in the past year but other than that I'm selfish as hell. But hey, I don't plan to have kids unless my worth becomes more than 500,000 which is never. So that kind of works out, a little.

Also, you can see those countries that rank low are ex-Socialist countries, such as Russia, Vietnam and Eastern Europe. Citizens in this countries were used to the Government taking the lead in providing charity.

China is in a flux or transition. HKG people used to be less charitable. What you see in HKG today is a big leap from 30 years ago. Charitable causes will eventually go on the rise as society gets wealthier. And BTW, I hope Chinese give to Charities that help China first, instead of giving to the Gates or Buffet foundations, unless they are involved with China. As China becomes wealthier, then they can donate to foreign causes too. Also, I think a lot of people in China rely on the government to provide help and donations, legacy of the Socialist system. Remember, Chinese government aid was far more effective in Sichuan and Yushu than the Western aid donors' efforts in Haiti, where most aid money never materialized, got pocketed by corrupt Haiti officials or just simply squandered paying the expensive Western NGO staff and administration.

That remark about former Socialist countries is an interesting insight. Though my initial thought would be the charitableness of some of the more northern European countries would debunk this somewhat - the systems in the Netherlands and further north - Sweden, Finland etc. - are quite socialist and "coddled by government," but they're still in the top level of givers.

Does anyone know anything about the Greek government and how socialist they are/were? They're even worse than China, but I don't know enough about the culture/political climate to make any assumptions as to why.

One observation (which may mix up correlation and causation, but i feel is worth at least examining): From the map, it looks like the better the populace is at speaking English, the more they tend to give.

The Scandinavian countries ran a very dufferent type of Socialism from communism. Although countries like Sweden have very generous social benefits, the individual is still expected to make very personal decisions, whereas in Communist societies, people expect the Government to many major decisions. With regards to the English speaking population, your observation is true only for White Anglo countries, I think this has to do with the global cultural aspect of English, where this translates into higher consciousness to be more responsible on global issues.

"One observation (which may mix up correlation and causation, but i feel is worth at least examining): From the map, it looks like the better the populace is at speaking English, the more they tend to give."

Hmmm...not sure if India really helps your argument on that one.

Whoa! What a lot of generalisations!

"China is in a flux or transition."

Isn't every society changing all the time?

"HKG people used to be less charitable."

Big generalisation. Got a source?

"Charitable causes will eventually go on the rise as society gets wealthier."

The number of African countries that are poorer but more charitable might suggest that wealth isn't necessarily the key motivator, don't you think?

"Remember, Chinese government aid was far more effective in Sichuan and Yushu than the Western aid donors' efforts in Haiti"

That may be true, but they weren't charitable donations, were they? It was the gov. doing it's job.

My own feeling is that there is a general lack of trust in Chinese society. I think people would be more charitable if they could be assured that their contribution would be used in the way it was intended.

Ah, another predictable reply. LOL! China is in a a flux, but of course, you wouldn't know that from your usual ignorance sitting from afar. I lived in HKG for many years, even in the 80s. HKG people were known to be very rude back then, just ask any foreigner who lived there at the time. Attitudes have changed a lot in HKG for the better, people now show more Ren chin wei, as witnessed by the recent Manila hostage killings. But then, an ignorant like you is in no position to challenge my "generalizations", LOL! Whether the Chinese government assistance is charitable or not is not important, it did the job, while the trumped-up Western donations have done little for the Haitians. BAH!

Maybe it has something to do with all of the corruption, crooks, and outright thieves in the world. Remember the earthquake and all those shiny new gubment vehicles bought and paid by donations? My small office- 22 people- raised over $5,000. Was there ever any accounting for the billions of dollars in donations?

I know for a fact that when my building runs one of their clothing/empty bottle/spare coin drives, all that stuff goes right to the building workers; not exactly the indigent and needy as advertised. My driver laughed when he explained this to me as if I would find it equally amusing.

I give all of my old stuff to my ayi and my coins to the physically impaired on the street; I know exactly where my donation is going.

When you feel the need to donate your hard earned cash start here "http://www.charitynavigator.or..."