People in wealthy countries continue to give less of their earnings to good causes than those in lower income regions, research has found.

The Charities Aid Foundation’s latest World Giving Report is based on surveys of more than 60,000 people across 105 countries.

This found that globally people donated on average 1% of their income.

But the proportion is much higher across African nations, where 1.6% is given, and far lower in Europe, where the figure is just 0.6%.

This disparity in giving between richer and poorer regions was also prevalent in last year's global giving report from CAF.

The UK is among the poorest performers in terms of percentage of earnings given to good causes, despite being the 25th richest nation in the world, according to latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures.

In the UK people donated 0.7% of their income, down on last year’s figure of 0.75%. This has seen the UK slump from the 64th most generous in terms of percentage of income given to 75th.

Previous research by CAF released earlier this year into local giving by Brits to charity also recorded a fall in the proportion of earnings donated in the UK. This found that among the least generous areas were affluent Kensington & Bayswater, while the most generous was Sheffield Hallam.

Global fall in giving

CAF’s research also found a global slump in the proportion of people giving to good causes, from 64% in 2024 to 61% in 2025. Using this metric the UK is ranked 5th in the world, at 62%.

In the UK Less than one in five donations in the UK goes to global charities, while just under one in four is made to local charities and just under three in five are made to national charities.

Most generous country revealed

The most generous country in the world is Nigeria, where people give an average of 2.8% of their income to good causes. Ghana is the second most generous, with a figure of 2.4%. Both are ranked outside the top 160 richest countries in the world, according to the IMF.

Overall, the ten most generous countries are in Africa and Asia.

Among the least generous is Portugal, which is ranked 100 out of 105 countries with people giving away on average 0.4% of their income.

Meanwhile, Germany is ranked 98th out of 105 countries looked at, with people similarly donating 0.4% of their income on average.

In 104th ranked Latvia people give away 0.3% of their earnings on average.

Globally the most generous age group are those aged 25 to 44.. They donate twice as much of their income on average compared to the over 55s (1.2% v 0.6%).

Most popular causes

Religious groups are the most popular cause to donate to globally, supported by just over three in ten people, followed by children and young people and poverty relief, which are supported by just under three in ten.

Despite Europe lagging behind Africa in terms of giving overall, donors in higher income countries including those in Europe give a higher share of their earnings to charities working globally, compared to those in lower income countries.

Community spirit

A strong sense community is key to giving, CAF’s report found.

In countries where more than four in five people feel a strong sense of belonging to their local community, giving is more than three times higher than where community spirit is low.

“Giving is deeply personal based on different factors including values, circumstances and experiences,” said CAF managing director Mark Greer.

“By understanding these influences and how they appear around the world, we can learn what drives vibrant cultures of giving to support the resilience of civil society.

“We all have a role to play in growing giving. Encouraging conversations, and more importantly, action by individuals, charities, businesses, and governments can help build stronger and more thriving civil societies.”

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