Sunday, March 23, 2025 South Africa was recently recognized as the friendliest country in the world , according to a study conducted by a digital financial services company. The study, led by Remitly , aimed to gauge the “agreeableness” of individuals across 27 countries, involving 3,000 participants in total. Using the Big 5 Personality Test , the study assessed traits such as kindness, empathy, and social warmth, which are all indicative of a person’s agreeableness.
South Africa emerged as the clear winner in this global comparison, securing an average score of 34.63 out of 40 , placing it at the top of the list. In contrast, the UK ranked 18th , and the US came in at 15th .
The Big Five Personality Test: Understanding Agreeableness The Big 5 Personality Test is a widely recognized framework in psychology used to measure five broad dimensions of personality: openness , conscientiousness , agreeableness , extraversion , and neuroticism . For this particular study, participants were evaluated primarily on their agreeableness . Individuals who score high on this trait are often seen as kind , empathetic , caring , and easy to engage with, which aligns with South Africa’s reputation for being exceptionally welcoming.
Each participant was asked a series of questions that helped determine their score, which ranged from 1 to 30 . The higher the score, the more “friendly” they were perceived to be. By calculating the average scores for each country, the study concluded .
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