Canada number two country for volunteering

Catholic New Times, May 21, 2006

OTTAWA -- Canada is the second most likely country to volunteer behind Norway, with 57 per cent of people involved in charity work, Pollster Jean-Marc Leger reveals.

In a 2006 survey published by Sun Media, the authors noted that despite having a high standard of living and per capita income, Denmark, Australia and Hong Kong all post dramatically lower levels of volunteerism. Canadian opinion differs greatly from the rest of the world in several areas, Leger said.

In the same survey, Leger showed that 18 per cent of Americans see themselves as not having enough to eat. African countries, including Nigeria (56 per cent) and Cameroon (52 per cent), ranked highest in hunger, whereas five per cent of Canadians say they go without enough to eat.

Generally, the higher the poverty level, the more religious the society is, too, according to Leger. In Canada, only 58 per cent call themselves religious, compared to 82 per cent in Latin America.