UK slips down CAF World Giving Index but is third most generous country for giving money
Melanie May | 9 November 2023 | News
The UK is the third most generous country in the world for giving money, but ranks low for helping a stranger and volunteering, according to this year’s CAF World Giving Index.
The UK drops to 58th place in the world for volunteering and 112th for helping a stranger in this year’s CAF World Giving Index. Half of the people questioned in the UK said they had helped a stranger in the past month (51%) compared to 83% of Jamaicans, the highest ranked country in that category.
This year’s CAF World Giving 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.
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UK drops to 17th place overall
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 10th last year. The UK drops to 17th in the world overall.
The UK appeared 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.
Top 10 most generous countries
- Indonesia
- Ukraine
- Kenya
- Liberia
- United States
- Myanmar
- Kuwait
- Canada
- Nigeria
- New Zealand
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.”
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.