The world's leading study on global generosity

The existence of generosity and civil society is a constant in all societies. Our World Giving Index offers a unique insight into how people engage in social activities for the benefit of their communities and to champion the growth of global giving.

First published in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2010, this long-running study has given us the opportunity to look into the scope and nature of giving around the world. It looks at three aspects of giving behaviour and asks: have you done any of the following in the past month?

  • Helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help
  • Donated money to a charity
  • Volunteered your time to an organisation

Key findings in 2023

The global World Giving Index score is 39, just one point lower than the high recorded in 2021. The results indicate that the increase in global giving seen during the pandemic has been broadly maintained.

Scores are calculated from an average of the responses for each country.  A higher score (out of 100) indicates that more of the population is engaged with giving.

72%
of the world’s population supported others,
amounting to 4.2 billion people

Indonesia
is the world’s most generous country for the sixth year in a row

Ukraine
is this year’s highest climber,
gaining 13 points since 2022

The world’s most generous countries:

  1. Indonesia
  2. Ukraine
  3. Kenya
  4. Liberia
  5. United States

6. Myanmar
7. Kuwait
8. Canada
9. Nigeria
10. New Zealand

Find out where your country ranks:

View the full listing

shutterstock_82800547

People who are religious have a higher giving index

The biggest gap between those who say religion is an important part of their daily lives and those who don’t is found in Sub-Saharan Africa (41 vs. 35), while in Europe there is no difference (each 38).

Immigrants give more than nationals

On average, those who say they were born in another country have a higher index score than nationals. This is most pronounced in The Middle East and North Africa (41 vs. 33) and Europe (44 vs. 37).

Generosity is linked to life satisfaction

How an individual perceives their current life situation is linked to their likelihood to donate money. People who rated their life today in positive terms were more likely to have made a gift to charity in the past month.

Recommendations for growing global giving

To ensure the building blocks are in place to enable cross-border giving and local giving structures to build sustainability;

Governments need to:

  • make sure that civil society organisations are regulated in a fair, consistent and open way
  • make it easy for people to give and offer incentives for giving where possible
  • promote civil society as an independent voice in public life and respect the right of not-for-profit organisations to speak out on important issues

International funders need to:

  • provide funding for organisations which provide support to donors and civil society organisations to build infrastructure that can continue to generate funds for civil society even after aid ends
  • fund local organisations directly to improve the accountability and efficiency of aid
  • recognise the importance of helping grantees to build sustainable domestic support and fund accordingly

Civil society organisations need to:

  • ensure good governance and be transparent about impact to build public trust
  • meaningfully partner with local communities so decision-making is locally owned
  • recognise and build on traditional forms of giving to create organisations and a culture of giving which complements the strengths of the local context

How does the UK compare?

The UK is in the top three countries for giving money, but ranks low for helping a stranger and volunteering.

17th
is the UK’s overall ranking, among 142 countries

3rd
for donating money, done by 71% of the population in 2022

58th
for volunteering, something 26% of the population did in 2022

112th
for helping a stranger, done by 51% of the population in 2022

Neil Heslop OBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said:

“The World Giving Index shows a mixed picture for the UK. We are one of the most generous countries in the world for giving money – even when times here are tough – but overall we have slipped down the Index over the last decade.

“That’s why we are calling for a renewed culture of giving in the UK to bring us all together and get time and money flowing to support hard-pressed charities and communities around the country. It’s up to all of us, but we think the Government can take the lead by drawing up a National Strategy for Philanthropy and Charitable Giving.”

What can the UK learn from other countries about philanthropy?

Read our series of policy recommendations for the UK as it considers its next steps in unlocking the full potential of philanthropic giving.

Find out how the UK compares

Make a difference with your charitable giving

We make it easier to give, so you can give when and how you want. Find out how we can help you support the causes you care about.

Give with confidence

Method

The CAF World Giving Index is based on data from Gallup’s World View World Poll, which is an ongoing research project carried out in more than 100 countries. Find out more about the methodology used in their World Poll.

Contact the Research Team

Our research programme is focused on investigating and increasing understanding of charitable giving and philanthropy.

Get in touch today

Media enquiries

Are you a member of the media?

For all media enquiries, please visit our media office, or email us direct.