Ireland has been placed fourth in a ranking of the world's most generous nations.

The World Giving Index, now in its fifth year, is compiled by UK-based Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), ranks countries according to three metrics: how likely people are to help strangers, how much money thry donate, and how much time they spend volunteering.

Ireland, which performed best in the money donated category, came just behind Myanmar, the US and Cananda.

The CAF explained the high position of Myanmar, where charitable giving is seen as a religious obligation: 

"This reflects the strong Theravada Buddhist community within Myanmar, with its estimated 500,000 monks (the highest proportion of monks to population of any Buddhist country) receiving support from lay devotees.

"Indeed, the practice of charitable giving or dana is integral to religious observance amongst Theravada Buddhists, with it being one of the key paths to earning good merit."

The full CAF report can be seen here.