MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines ranked as the world's 6th most polite nation and the 8th most friendliest country, according to a survey conducted by Remitly in 26 countries involving over 4,600 respondents.
For people moving abroad, "everyday social interactions can shape how welcomed they feel," said Remitly which shared its survey to The Manila Times on Thursday.
"This could be as simple as a friendly greeting at their local coffee shop, patience with language barriers, or a simple smile on the street," said Remitly, a cross-border digital financial services provider.
The top 15 most polite nations based on the votes gathered are: Japan (35.15 percent), Canada (13.35 percent), United Kingdom (6.23 percent), China (3.07 percent), Germany (2.80 percent), Philippines (2.30 percent), Sweden (2.26 percent), Denmark (2.07 percent), Finland (1.92 percent), South Africa (1.82 percent), Australia and Switzerland (both got 1.73 percent), United States (1.57 percent), India (1.53 percent), and Ireland (1.46 percent).
"This list does not measure rudeness, the results simply reflect which nations people most associate with politeness," Remitly said.
Based on the survey the top 15 friendliest countries are: Canada (10.50 percent), Brazil (7.96 percent), Australia (5.10 percent), Japan (4.96 percent), Spain (4.90 percent), Mexico (4.79 percent), Italy (4.50 percent), Philippines (4.16 percent), Ireland (3.69 percent), India (3.42 percent), Greece (3.37 percent), New Zealand (3.30 percent), United States (3.21 percent), Portugal (3.17 percent), and South Africa (3.06 percent).
"These moments of politeness can make a big difference in helping someone feel at home in a new country, something we hear often from our customers who move overseas and send money home," it added.
One of its key findings was that despite the Philippines' ranking as the world's 6th most polite nation, "this perception isn't matched by Filipinos themselves."
Remitly said it used the surveying platform Prolific in asking 4,697 participants from 26 countries around the world to name the country they believe has the most polite and friendliest people.
"We then calculated the total number of votes each country received and ranked them by the highest percentage share. In addition, we asked them whether they consider themselves to be polite and if they treat strangers with respect " Remitly said.
A maximum of 10 points was possible, with higher scores indicating a higher level of perceived politeness.
"The self-perception ranking includes only countries where sufficient local responses were collected. All data is correct as of March 2026," it said.
Japan ranks as the most polite nation, with over 35 percent of respondents saying so, yet it also ranks near the bottom for self-perceived politeness.
The people of Brazil and Chile are the most confident in their own politeness, "while Filipinos aren't, ranking themselves as the fifth least polite country."
