UK is one of the world’s most generous countries

9 November 2023

The UK is the third most generous population in the world when it comes to giving money to charity, behind only Indonesia and Myanmar, according to research by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

The CAF World Giving Index is one of the biggest surveys on giving ever produced, with millions of people interviewed around the world since 2009. This year’s Index includes data from 142 countries where people were asked three questions: have they helped a stranger, given money or volunteered for a good cause over the past month.

But while the UK’s population is one of the most likely to donate money, the country drops to 58^th in the world for volunteering and 112^th for helping a stranger. Just half of Brits said they had helped a stranger in the past month (51%) compared to 83% of Jamaicans, the highest ranked country in that category.

When the results of the three questions are combined, Indonesia tops the list of most generous populations for the sixth year in a row, while Ukraine comes second, climbing from 10^th last year. The UK drops to 17^th in the world overall.

While many high-income countries saw a decline in their Index score during the pandemic, most returned to the top 10 last year; the United States is in fifth place this year, with Canada in eighth, and New Zealand in tenth. The UK made an appearance in the top 10 most generous countries every year until 2016, when it ranked #11 on the global index, but hasn’t featured among the highest scoring countries since 2019.

The UK now ranks 10 places lower on the index than it was a decade ago. Across the decade, a total of 46 countries have been able to improve their rank, including other European countries such as France (up 2 places), Denmark (up 5 places), Hungary (up 13 places), Sweden (up 15 places), Estonia (up 54 places) and the Czech Republic (up 71 places).

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

“This year’s CAF World Giving Index shows a rather mixed picture for the UK. We are still one of the most generous countries in the world for giving money – even when times are so tough – but overall we have slipped down the Index over the last decade.

“Giving is about building a connection with those around us, whether they are across the street or on the other side of the world. We need to constantly renew and nurture a culture of giving to bring us all together and get more time and money flowing to support hard-pressed communities around the country. It’s up to all of us, but the Government can take the lead by drawing up a national strategy for philanthropy and charitable giving.”

CAF World Giving Index – Top 10 most generous countries

Top 10 countries for donating money

Top 10 countries for helping a stranger

Top 10 countries for volunteering their time