Irish people are the third most generous in Europe, according to a recent study.

The annual index of the Charities Aid Foundation, a leading international charity in the UK, examines the percentage of people who donate to charity, volunteer their time, or help strangers.

Ireland was ranked the ninth most generous country out of the 145 countries surveyed and the third most generous in Europe, TheJournal.ie reports.

The study found that seven out of 10 people in Ireland donate money to charity, while thee out of five people helped a stranger in the last month.

Myanmar (Burma) was found to be the most generous country in the world, followed by the US, New Zealand, and Canada.

Within Europe, only the UK and the Netherlands ranked as more generous than Ireland.