United States of America first, Australia slips to seventh on 2013 World Giving Index With charitable giving season in full force, here's how to evaluate all the donation requests you'll receive. The Salvation Army raises money during each holiday season by ringing their bells to encourage people to donate money to help the poor. But they have something more up their sleeves to get the attention of busy New Yorkers. AUSTRALIA has lost its title as the world's most generous country, slipping to seventh spot in the latest rankings. The 2013 World Giving Index reveals that the crown has been reclaimed by the United States. The main reason for the slip down the list is a drop in the proportion of people donating money after peaking in the outpouring of kindness in the months following the 2010-11 summer of natural disasters in Queensland. The percentage volunteering their time and reporting that they had helped a stranger also fell slightly year-on-year. "Australia remains a very generous nation by international standards, but they are particularly generous when it comes to disasters," Charities Aid Foundation Australia chief executive officer Lisa Grinham said. It's the Aussie attitude of helping your mates out. The Index is compiled, using Gallup research surveys in 135 countries by the international CAF group. Joint second behind the US in this year's list are New Zealand, Canada and Myanmar. Ireland and the UK also nudged ahead of Australia. The least generous nation on earth, according to the Index, is financially-strapped Greece. The proportion of Aussies who donated money in 2012 - the year on which the 2013 Giving Index is based - dropped from 76 per cent to 67 per cent. The researchers found that 34 per cent volunteered their time, and 64 per cent had helped out a stranger. Tania Kihl, Queensland general manager for The Smith Family charity, said donations of time and skills were every bit as valuable as money. The Smith Family, which employs 550 people, has 7,700 volunteers across Australia, contributing $12 million worth of working hours. She said the reduction in cash donations had been noticeable, with contributions to the charity's Christmas appeal down about 10 per cent. Overall, the world is becoming a kinder place, with global giving on the rise even though economic growth slowed. Only five of the top 20 most generous nations feature in the G20 group of the world's largest economies. And this year's World Giving Index threw up more than a few surprises. Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) was the highest new entry. "Its joint second place in is mainly due to an extraordinarily high incidence of donating money - 85%," the report said, suggesting the reason could be religious, with 90 per cent of the population being Buddhist. Other developing countries including Sri Lanka, Libya, the Philippines, Indonesia and Nigeria all make the top 20.