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Johannesburg - Wealthy South Africans are the second most generous nation when it comes to giving money, and rank fourth in volunteering their time to worthy causes, according to a report.
"South Africa was found to be the second most financially generous nation behind the United States, and when it came to measuring which nations were the most generous in giving of their time, South Africa ranked fourth behind list-topping Ireland," said Absa Wealth in a statement on Tuesday.
It was citing a recently released report, Global Giving: The Culture of Philanthropy, from Barclays Wealth.
"The concept of philanthropy is universal; however a strong sense of ubuntu and the inequality between rich and poor in South Africa are the driving forces locally," said Nomkhita Nqweni, managing executive at Absa Wealth.
The report surveyed 2 000 high net worth individuals from 20 countries around the world, measuring the money and time they invested in charities and causes. It also looked at what motivated their generosity.
Out of those who were most generous with giving money, 41% of respondents from the US said philanthropy was one of their top three spending priorities.
This was followed by 37% of South Africans and 32% of Saudi Arabians.
When it came to giving their time to good causes, Irish and Indian respondents were top of the list, with 20% saying they spent five hours a week or more on charity.
US respondents came in at 17%, followed by South Africans at 13%.
"By plotting these results together the report reveals that the United States, Ireland, South Africa and India lead the way as countries that donate significant amounts of both money and time to charitable causes."
