Global generosity highest for a decade
Melanie May | 22 September 2022 | News
Globally, more people donated money to charity and helped a stranger last year than in any year of the previous decade, according to the CAF World Giving Index 2022.
Three billion people helped someone they didn’t know, increasing by approximately half a billion compared to prior to the pandemic and around 200 million more also donated money to charity worldwide, with donations rising by 10% in high-income economies.
The UK is the 17th most generous country, with Ukraine rising from 20th to 10th place to be the only European country in the top 10.
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This year’s Index includes data from 119 countries, representing more than 90% of the global adult population. It includes the results of 1.95 million individuals interviewed across the globe since 2009, making it one of the biggest surveys into giving ever produced according to CAF. People around the world are asked three questions: have they helped a stranger, given money or volunteered for a good cause over the past month?
Most generous countries
Indonesia is the world’s most generous country for the fifth year in a row, followed by Kenya. Many high-income countries returned to the top 10, having seen a steep decline in volunteering and giving since 2018 which accelerated during the pandemic. In addition to the United States in third place, Australia (4), New Zealand (5), and Canada (8) are all in the top 10.
The UK has risen however, reaching 17th place overall, up from 22nd in 2020.
Ukraine occupies 10th place in the Index, with the high score from data collected prior to the 2022 conflict reflecting new ways to engage with charity that have emerged in Ukraine, along with an increase in living standards and the need that was created by the pandemic according to CAF.
The biggest riser is the Czech Republic, up 29%. As well as substantially improving its score, the Czech Republic has moved up 75 places in the ranking compared to 2020, and 115 places compared to 2017. The country recording the biggest decline was Myanmar, down by 13%, but still ranking #6 on the overall Index in 2021.
Half of the countries which declined the most in 2021 are high-income countries, including Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Japan, Ireland and Germany. Ireland now sits just outside the top 10 at #11.
Neil Heslop OBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said:
“Giving takes different forms around the globe, and even the definitions of what constitutes charity and generosity differ across cultures. Our World Giving Index aims to measure generosity as expressed through three human behaviours. Encouragingly, the overall Index score has increased, indicating that people around the world have been engaging more in generous actions than during the previous year.
“Against an uncertain economic, social, and political backdrop, the World Giving Index improves our understanding about global giving. Covid-19 has affected the world’s poorest and vulnerable the most, which has also disrupted progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Private donors and businesses are likely to be called upon to fill funding gaps and charities will need to work out how best to direct their limited funding for the greatest impact. However, in the wake of two difficult years and with further challenges likely to come, we continue to see great instances of global generosity.”
The 2022 World Giving Index launches during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at an event in New York to discuss the role of the private sector in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.