Driven by its international presence and expertise, CAF has published the leading study on global generosity since 2010, now in its 14th edition. The latest report from 2024 has once again proven the positive changes from different parts of the world.
Research Methods
The study provides a deeper insight into global trends on three distinct aspects of generosity; volunteering, helping a stranger, and donating to charities. The survey focused on what people had done in the previous month.
Results were analyzed from over 145,000 people across over 140 countries last year, representing more than 95% of the world’s population.
An index score and global ranking was determined from the average of the calculated results.
Key insights
The index score is the highest since 2021, reaching a total of 40 points.
75 countries out of 140 improved their World Giving Index score in 2023.
Indonesia ranked first for the seventh year running, taking over Myanmar in 2017.
”As many as nine in 10 Indonesians donated money to charity, and more than six in 10 volunteered their time – the country tops the global league tables for both of these behaviours.”
In Europe
In the top 10, Malta joins for the first time ever. It has an index score of 54 points which was primarily driven by an increase in donating money to charities. Greece had the largest year-on-year increase in the world for helping a stranger. The UK has fallen to a ranking of 22, and has had a downward trajectory over past decade.
Since the advent of the World Index on Generosity study, China has seen the most changes with its index score increasing by 49 places in that time, primarily due to the liberalization of charities regulations and raising funds, easing its stance on control and approval.
Singapore’s increase was partially attributed to higher volunteering acts seen after the Covid 19 pandemic.
”The positive results for Singapore follow the Government’s recent initiatives to bolster philanthropy in the country. One such initiative is Singapore’s Corporate Volunteer Scheme, which encourages deeper partnerships between charities and businesses through the provision of tax relief on employee volunteer time. The World Giving Index shows that significantly more Singaporeans are donating money in recent years (up 45% since 2021). Singapore operates a generous tax benefit scheme for donations that effectively amounts to a relief rate of 250% – for every dollar that is donated to a government-approved charity, taxable income is reduced by SGD $2.50.”
Key Recommendations
Governments:
1. Government regulation must focus on establishing an equal ground for all charities to operate in.
2. Facilitate cross border giving and provide incentives in this area.
3. Bring civil society to the forefront of public life and provide equal support to the independence of nonprofit organizations.
International Funders:
4. Increase focus on long term sustainable approaches post crisis.
5. Support local actors and projects.
Civil society organization’s:
6. Joining forces with other locally based organizations to maximize impact and have a voice in decision making.
With a strong commitment to the above recommendations, the non-profit sector can become a more active player in contributing to an increase in community resilience in the face of global crises in the future. Through the work conducted by Transnational Giving Network, we continue to facilitate cross border giving with our online platform.
Download the report here: World Giving Index 2024