Acts of kindness endure after Covid but report finds west is less happy

The world experienced a "benevolence bump" of kindness during the Covid-19 pandemic that has remained, with generous acts more than 10% above pre-pandemic levels, a study has found.

- Jessica Murray

The annual World Happiness Report found that in 2024, acts such as donating and volunteering were more frequent than in 2017-19 in all generations and almost all regions, although they had fallen from 2023.

Helping strangers was still up by an average of 18% from the pre-pandemic era.

Prof Lara Aknin, a Canadian professor of social psychology and one of the report's editors, said the number of people who reported helping strangers sharply increased in 2020 and the numbers had been sustained.

She said: "I think many people have an interest in helping others, but sometimes shy away; they don't want to overstep their welcome. The Covid-19 pandemic made it abundantly clear that many of us need help from our neighbours and friends.

"So maybe people felt a greater sense of obligation and lower levels of inhibition knowing their help would be welcomed."

She said data in the coming years would help to reveal whether the benevolence trend was here to stay.