A global view of giving trends
19 December 2012
The world became a less generous place last year – according to
a new report. And, in a previously unrevealed trend, giving
worldwide appears to be mirroring global economic patterns.
The sharp decline in global generosity in 2011 has led to what
is being termed as a ‘double dip’ in giving.
The findings are revealed today by the Charities Aid Foundation
(CAF) in its annual World Giving Index, which is the most
comprehensive report on charitable behaviour in the world.
According to the report, the proportion of people giving money
to good causes, volunteering or helping a stranger all fell last
year and were also down on 2007.
CAF, which is an international charity that promotes charitable
giving and provides financial services and social finance to
not-for-profit organisations, compiled the report using statistics
produced by international polling company Gallup, who spoke to more
than 155,000 people in 146 countries.
The report found that the average proportion of people across
146 countries donating money in the past month to charity fell from
29.8% in 2007 to 28% in 2011.
The percentage of people helping strangers in the past month was
45.1% in 2011 – down from 47.0% in 2007, while the proportion
volunteering their time was down from 21.4% in 2007 to 18.4% in
2011.
Analysis of global giving over the past five years shows giving
dropped in 2009, the year after the 2008 financial crisis,
recovered in 2010, and then fell sharply again in 2011.
Overall the index, found that Australia was the
most generous country on earth, followed in second place by
Ireland. Canada was the third
most charitable nation, New Zealand the
fourth, and the United States the fifth.
The five next most generous countries were the Netherlands,
Indonesia, the UK, Paraguay and Denmark respectively.
The two countries jointly at the bottom of the index were Greece
and Montenegro.
Around the world, more women donated money than men in 2011, but
men were more likely to volunteer time and help a stranger.
The report also indicates that there is a generational gap in
giving worldwide.
Over the past five years, 16-24 year olds have been as much as
10 percentage points less likely than the over 50s to donate
money.
On the three key indicators of giving money, giving time and
helping a stranger, the report found that in 2011:
Giving Money
- India was the country with the largest number
of people donating money, with 165m people giving money in the last
month. The United States was second with 143m
followed by Indonesia (126.2m)
China (109m) and Thailand
(39m).
- Ireland was the country with the biggest
proportion of people giving money, with 79% of people donating
money in the past month. Australia was ranked
second (76%) followed by the Netherlands (73%) the
UK (72%) and Indonesia
(71%).
Giving Time
- The United States was the country with the
largest number of people volunteering time, with 105m volunteers,
followed by India (87m) Indonesia
(72.8m) China (44m) and the
Philippines (27m).
- Turkmenistan topped the list of countries with
the highest proportion of people giving time (58%) followed by
Liberia (53%) Uzbekistan (46%)
Tajikistan (45%) and the
Philippines (44%).
Helping a stranger
- Liberia had the largest proportion of people
who helped a stranger in the past month (81%) followed by
Oman (72%) Qatar (71%)
Sierra Leone (71%) and the
United States (71%).
- China had the largest number of people who
helped a stranger in the past month (283m) followed by the
United States (178m) India (165m)
Indonesia (76m) and Brazil
(65m).
John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said:
“This report shows that giving is susceptible to fragility in world
economic conditions. It shows a notable drop in giving despite of
growth in global GDP.
“In large parts of the world, household incomes are being
squeezed, prices are rising and job insecurity is on the increase,
with the result that many simply less have time and money to
spare.
“As our report shows, trends in worldwide giving appear to
mirror those in the global economy and we are now experiencing a
double dip in giving.”
He added: “It is truly humbling that hundreds of millions of
people around the world donate their time, money and help
strangers. But our report lays bare how our global generosity is
reflects the economic backdrop.
“With the worrying decline in giving and support for charity, it
is critical that politicians, businesses and people across the
world take action to support charities and those who depend on
their vital work.”
The top 20 countries in the World Giving Index
| Country | World Giving Index ranking | Last year's World Giving Index ranking | World Giving Index score (%) | Donating money (%) | Volunteer
time (%) | Help a stranger (%) |
| Australia | 1 | 3 | 60 | 76 | 37 | 67 |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 60 | 79 | 34 | 66 |
| Canada | 3 | 7 | 58 | 64 | 42 | 67 |
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 57 | 66 | 38 | 68 |
| United States of America | 5 | 1 | 57 | 57 | 42 | 71 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 6 | 53 | 73 | 34 | 51 |
| Indonesia | 7 | 37 | 52 | 71 | 41 | 43 |
| United Kingdom | 8 | 5 | 51 | 72 | 26 | 56 |
| Paraguay | 9 | 30 | 50 | 48 | 42 | 61 |
| Denmark | 10 | 13 | 49 | 70 | 23 | 54 |
| Liberia | 11 | 12 | 49 | 12 | 53 | 81 |
| Iran | 12 | ns | 48 | 51 | 24 | 70 |
| Turkmenistan | 13 | ns | 48 | 30 | 58 | 56 |
| Qatar | 14 | 14 | 47 | 53 | 17 | 71 |
| Sri Lanka | 15 | 8 | 47 | 42 | 43 | 55 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 16 | ns | 45 | 44 | 30 | 62 |
| Finland | 17 | 16 | 45 | 50 | 27 | 57 |
| Philippines | 18 | 23 | 45 | 32 | 44 | 58 |
| Hong Kong | 19 | 10 | 44 | 64 | 13 | 56 |
| Oman | 20 | ns | 44 | 39 | 22 | 72 |
Notes:
- Only includes countries surveyed in
2011
- Data relates to participation in giving behaviours during one
month prior to
interview
- World Giving Index scores are shown to the nearest whole number
but the rankings are determined using two decimal points
- ns = not surveyed
Media contacts
For more information please contact a member of our media team.