Deborah Akinyosoye
Nigeria has been ranked as the 7th friendliest country to strangers globally, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report released on Monday.
The report, published by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, assessed 147 countries based on indicators such as self-reported well-being and prosocial behaviour, including helping others, volunteering, and donating.
Despite the high ranking in friendliness to strangers, Nigeria placed 105th in overall happiness. The report attributed this to persistent challenges in life satisfaction and the strength of public institutions.
It further revealed disparities in trust depending on who is perceived to be in possession of a lost item. Respondents indicated they were more confident that a stranger would return a lost wallet than a police officer.
According to the survey results, Nigeria ranked 33rd in the likelihood of recovering a lost wallet if found by a stranger, 71st if found by a neighbour, and 126th if found by the police.
The report stated, “Where institutional structures are weak, helping strangers likely becomes the most direct and effective form of benevolence.”
Nigeria’s pattern was observed to be similar to those of other countries with fragile systems, including Liberia, Jamaica, Trinidad, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Zambia. Nigeria also placed 45th globally in charitable donations.
The report highlights a continuing trend of strong interpersonal trust in communities despite low confidence in public systems.