The most honest cities in the world

An experiment reveals that Helsinki in Finland is the most honest city in the world

Neela Debnath
Thursday 26 September 2013 09:17 BST
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Would you hand in a lost wallet or would you keep it? According to the results of a new experiment, more people are likely to hand in a wallet in Helsinki, Finland than in any other city in the world. Eleven out of 12 wallets were returned to their owners in the Scandinavian city.

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As part of a project carried out by Reader's Digest, wallets were dropped in 16 cities around the world in an attempt to find out how many would be handed in. Each wallet contained a contact number, a family photo, business cards, coupons and the equivalent of $50 or £31.

Mumbai, India was the second most honest city in the world with nine out of 12 wallets getting handed in, while Lisbon, Portugal was the most dishonest with only one wallet being returned to its owner.

The magazine selected the cities and then asked its reporters to 'lose' the wallets in public places, such as shopping centres, car parks and on pavements. A total of 192 wallets were dropped with 12 'lost' in each city.

The most honest cities in the world:

1. Helsinki, Finland - 11 out of 12 wallets

2. Mumbai, India - 9 out of 12

=3. Budapest, Hungary - 8 out of 12

=3. New York City, USA - 8 out of 12

=5. Moscow, Russia - 7 out of 12

=5. Amsterdam, Netherlands - 7 out of 12

=7. Berlin, Germany - 6 out of 12

=7. Ljubljana, Slovenia - 6 out of 12

=9. London, UK - 5 out of 12

=9. Warsaw, Poland - 5 out of 12

=11. Bucharest, Romania - 4 out of 12

=11. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 4 out of 12

=11. Zurich, Switzerland - 4 out of 12

14. Prague, Czech Republic - 3 out of 12

15. Madrid, Spain - 2 out of 12

16. Lisbon, Portugal - 1 out of 12

For further reading

The top 10 cities in the world

The 10 worst cities in the world to live in

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