Most honest: Helsinki, Finland

Our reporters “lost” 192 wallets in cities around the world.

In each, we put a name with a cellphone number, a family photo, coupons, and business cards, plus the equivalent of $50. We “dropped” 12 wallets in each of the 16 cities we selected, leaving them in parks, near shopping malls, and on sidewalks. Then we watched to see what would happen.

Lauri Rokto/City of Helsinki Tourist & Convention Bureau

Wallets returned: 11 out of 12. Lasse Luomakoski, a 27-year-old businessman, found our wallet downtown. “Finns are naturally honest,” he said. “We are a small, quiet, closely-knit community. We have little corruption, and we don’t even run red lights.” In the working-class area of Kallio, a couple in their sixties said, “Of course we returned the wallet. Honesty is an inner conviction.”

Published: 25th September 2013

Categorised in: For the Record