Nigeria Ranked 7th Friendliest Country to Strangers Globally

Nigeria has been ranked as the 7th friendliest country to strangers in the world, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report released by the United Nations in collaboration with Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre and Gallup.

The report, which evaluated 147 countries, measured various indicators of well-being including kindness to strangers, volunteering, and charitable donations. Nigeria’s high ranking in friendliness reflects a strong culture of interpersonal benevolence, despite lingering socio-economic challenges.

While Nigeria excelled in showing kindness to strangers, it ranked 105th overall in happiness, indicating deeper issues such as poor life satisfaction, fragile public institutions, and low trust in governance systems.

One of the report’s most striking findings is the trust gap between Nigerians’ confidence in strangers versus their faith in formal institutions. When asked what would happen if a lost wallet was found:

Nigeria ranked 33rd if the wallet was found by a stranger, 71st if found by a neighbour, and
126th if found by the police. This disparity highlights widespread skepticism toward state institutions, a trend the report noted was common in countries with weak governance structures.

“Where institutional structures are weak, helping strangers likely becomes the most direct and effective form of benevolence,” the report stated.
Nigeria shares this pattern with countries like Liberia, Jamaica, Trinidad, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Zambia.

In charitable giving, Nigeria ranked 45th globally, reflecting a continued culture of generosity at the grassroots level, even in the face of economic hardship.

The World Happiness Report is an annual publication that draws data from Gallup World Poll surveys and provides insights into how people perceive their lives across various dimensions of wellbeing and governance.