Donating to charities, doing voluntary work or helping strangers are all examples of showing compassion to others, contributing to the functioning of society and/or supporting the disadvantaged. Income levels can to some extent explain observed differences between countries, but different traditions regarding the supportive role of the state, the community and the family are also important.
On average, people across the Asia/Pacific region are as likely to donate to charities than people living in OECD countries, and the incidence of donating to charities has remained quite stable over the past decade both in the OECD and in the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 5.13). In 2023, people in South-Eastern Asia are 11 percentage points more likely to donate to charity than the average across the Asia/Pacific region. In the Pacific region, the share of people who donate to charity is around 18 percentage points higher than the Asia/Pacific average. There are also wide differences across countries. In China, the incidence of donating to charities was roughly 10‑15% until 2018, but it has since doubled to over 30% in 2023. In Indonesia, more than 65% of people have donated money to charity since 2010 and it steadily increased to 90% as of 2023.
Alternative ways of showing solidarity can be through helping a stranger or offering time to an organisation or charity. In recent years, the share of people who helped a stranger increased on average across the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 5.14). Georgia and Singapore had the largest increase in altruistic behaviour towards strangers over the past decade, while Cambodians and Japanese appear to be the least likely to help a stranger in need, with less than 25% of their people reporting helping a stranger.
The share of people who volunteered time also varies across the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 5.15). On average, one in four people volunteered time to an organisation in 2022‑23. Indonesia had the highest percentage of volunteers, showing a large increase since 2012‑13. By contrast, less than 15% of the population in Armenia, Cambodia, Kazakhstan and Viet Nam dedicated time to volunteering.
