Since 2011, the biggest increase in participation in volunteering has occurred among 15-24 year olds. This age group has gone from being the least likely to volunteer in 2008 to the second most likely to volunteer in 2012.

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has released an infographic of the 2013 World Giving Index, a global view of giving trends. The aim of the Index is to provide insight into the scope and nature of giving around the world.

The index is based on surveys in 135 countries by Gallup over the past year and looks at three measures of giving: the percentage of people who give money to charity, volunteer their time or help a stranger in a typical month.

The index found that the United States was the most generous country on earth, followed in joint second place by Canada, Burma and New Zealand, with Ireland in fifth place.

Israel was ranked 31.

The report’s Key findings and conclusions include:

1. The United States has reclaimed first place in the World Giving Index

In 2012, proportionally more Americans gave in some way than in any other country. The United States has therefore risen again to first place in the rankings, a position it has traded with Australia since the World Giving Index was first published in 2010. The key reason for this rise is that a higher proportion of Americans helped a stranger than any other country in the world in 2012.

2. Giving has bucked a trend, growing in 2012

The average percentage of people donating money, volunteering time, and helping a stranger globally all grew in 2012 in relation to 2011, despite a continued fall in the rate of growth of the global economy from 4.0% to 3.2%.

3. The most substantial growth is in the number of people helping strangers

The number of people who helped others grew by over 200 million in 2012; more than double the growth in the number of people donating money and volunteering. The use of such informal giving mechanisms, to help those in need within their community, shows the importance of personal interactions in philanthropy, especially in the developing world.

4. Global youth are driving the rise in volunteering

Since 2011, the biggest increase in participation in volunteering has occurred among 15-24 year olds (from 18.4% in 2011 to 20.6% in 2012). This age group has gone from being the least likely to volunteer in 2008 to the second most likely to volunteer in 2012.