LifestyleNewsNigeriaNigeria Ranked 7th Friendliest Country to Strangers

Nigeria has been ranked the 7th friendliest country to strangers in the world, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report released on Monday.

The report, jointly published by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, assessed 147 countries based on various indicators, including self-reported well-being and prosocial behaviours such as helping others, volunteering, and charitable donations.

While Nigeria scored high in friendliness, the country ranked 105th in overall happiness, with the report citing long-standing challenges in life satisfaction and weak public institutions as contributing factors.

In a striking insight into trust dynamics, the report revealed that Nigerians are more confident that a stranger would return a lost wallet than a police officer.

The country was 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 noted, “Where institutional structures are weak, helping strangers likely becomes the most direct and effective form of benevolence.”

Nigeria’s pattern mirrors that of other countries with fragile systems, including Liberia, Jamaica, Trinidad, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Despite its low ranking in overall happiness, Nigeria placed 45th globally in charitable donations, reflecting a continuing culture of generosity and interpersonal trust within communities, even as confidence in public systems remains low.