Nigeria Ranked 7th Friendliest Country to Strangers – UN Report

According to the 2025 World Happiness Report from the United Nations, Nigeria has been named the seventh most friendly nation to strangers worldwide.

Compiled by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the report surveyed residents of 147 countries on their overall well-being and prosocial behaviours, such as helping someone in need, volunteering, and giving to charity.

Despite Nigeria’s top-ten placement for kindness to unfamiliar faces, the country sits at 105th place in overall happiness. This contrast points to broader challenges, including low life satisfaction and fragile public institutions.

The report highlights a striking trust gap: Nigerians place more faith in their fellow citizens than in official systems. When asked how likely they would be to recover a lost wallet, respondents ranked:

• 33rd, if a stranger found it
• 71st if a neighbour found it
• 126th if the police found it

This pattern shows high confidence in individuals but little faith in authorities, is common in countries where government services are seen as unreliable. As the report observes, when institutions falter, everyday acts of kindness toward strangers often become the most direct way to help one another.

Other nations displaying similar behaviour include Jamaica, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Zambia. Beyond friendliness to strangers, Nigeria also placed 45th globally for charitable giving, another sign of its generous spirit despite economic hardships.