Nigeria has been ranked the 7th friendliest country to strangers in the world, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report by the United Nations.
The report, compiled by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre in collaboration with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, assessed 147 countries based on self-reported well-being and prosocial behaviours like helping others, volunteering, and donating.
While Nigeria scored high in kindness to strangers, it placed 105th overall in happiness, pointing to challenges like poor life satisfaction and weak institutions.
The report revealed a trust gap: Nigerians were more confident in strangers than in public systems. When asked about lost wallets: Nigeria ranked 33rd if found by a stranger, 71st if found by a neighbour, 126th if found by the police.
This highlights low public trust in institutions, a pattern seen in many countries with fragile systems.
The report noted, “Where institutional structures are weak, helping strangers likely becomes the most direct and effective form of benevolence.”
Countries with similar patterns include: Jamaica, Liberia, Trinidad, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Venezuela, Ukraine, Zambia, Nigeria also ranked 45th in charitable donations.
