International comparisons of charitable
giving
24 November 2006
A new survey published today has highlighted some fundamental
differences in the way countries approach giving to charity.
International Comparisons of Charitable Giving,
published by CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) has explored individual
philanthropy in 12 countries including the UK, the US, France and
Germany, where comparable data was available. The survey
identified some of the key cultural and political factors that have
a major impact on people’s giving.
Where tax and social insurance contributions are high, for
example, giving is a relatively lower proportion of GDP. This
is particularly true of France, Turkey and the Netherlands, while
in the UK and Republic of Ireland, comparatively lower personal
taxation is matched by relatively higher levels of giving.
Tax incentives on giving had a clear impact in countries with
the most generous tax breaks like the US and UK. But while the
majority of countries surveyed offered some form of tax incentive
on giving, the impact of specific benefits is simply not known.
The effect of religion on giving also varies hugely from country
to country. In the US and the Republic of Ireland, high levels
of religious commitment were matched by high levels of giving as a
percentage of GDP. Australia and New Zealand, however, both in
the middle band for religious commitment, had high and low levels
of giving respectively.
Interestingly, a nation’s wealth does not automatically lead to
high national giving. In the Netherlands and France which
enjoy high average incomes, giving as a percentage of GDP is among
the lowest of the countries surveyed. In South Africa and
Australia, the opposite is true, and only in the US, the UK and
Canada are high average incomes met by relatively high levels of
giving.
According to Andrew Jones, Executive Director of External
Affairs with CAF: "International Comparisons of Charitable
Giving offers a snapshot of levels of giving around the
world. And while it's clear that a number of factors influence
giving, more work needs to be done to understand the drivers of
philanthropy in different countries.
Only when we understand this, can we really begin to explore the
opportunities for giving in the future."
International Comparisons of Charitable Giving is available to
download free of charge at www.cafonline.org/internationalgiving
Notes to editors
Established in 1974, CAF is the not-for-profit organisation
which is committed to effective giving, both in the UK and
internationally. Our work spans the full breadth of the
charitable sector, wherever we feel we can make a positive
difference to the level and impact of giving.
CAF promotes effective giving. For individuals, we make
donating to the causes they care about simple and tax
efficient. For businesses, we can support every aspect of
their community involvement. And for charities, our services
can help them make the most of what is given.
For this report, CAF has reviewed and compared the results of
surveys of individual giving in a number of countries whose wealth
covers half of the total global economy. These international
comparisons of charitable giving reveal whether donating in the UK
and other countries is as high as it could be, and what countries
might learn from each other. The survey has been standardised
as far as possible to produce reasonably robust comparisons.