The United Kingdom is the most generous country in Europe and the sixth most generous country in the world, according to new research by Charities Aid Foundation.
The data, published as The World Giving Index 2015 by CAF today, shows that 75 per cent of people in the UK have donated money to charity in the last year, more than double the international average of 31.5 per cent.
The data is based on surveys of people aged 15 and over in 145 countries worldwide, carried out by global research consultant Gallup in 2014. The survey looked at three metrics of giving: the percentage of people who have given money to charity, volunteered time and helped a stranger.
The report shows that people in the UK were also above average when it came to freely volunteering their time, with 32 per cent of those surveyed saying they had done so in the last year. The figure is three percentage points higher than the previous year, suggesting that an extra 1.58 million people have volunteered.
People assisting strangers in the UK was also up two percentage points from the previous year, with 63 per cent of people saying they had done so in the last year. This represents an increase of 1.56 million people.
Having seen increases across all three giving metrics, the United Kingdom has moved from seventh to six in the report’s list of the top 10 most generous countries. Two other European countries are in the top 10, with the Netherlands coming in seventh and Ireland in ninth.
Myanmar is listed as the world’s most generous country, with the United States of America and New Zealand rounding out the top three.
The report shows that some of the world’s most generous countries are amongst the most deprived. The data shows that only five of G-20 members – which represents the world’s largest economies - account for the top 20 most generous countries. The remaining 15 poll outside the top 50, with a further six of those polling outside the top 100.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: “The CAF World Giving Index continually confounds any attempts to define what it is that makes a country generous. Some might expect to see the culture of giving being greatest among the wealthiest nations but, as this year’s report shows, the reality can often be quite the opposite.
“One factor which holds true is that, in almost any place in the world, people will rally around in a crisis. It is humbling to see how countries which have suffered adversity continue to score highly, with increasing numbers of people giving in some instances.”
