The UK has risen to 17th place in the latest Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) World Giving Index, from 22nd position a year earlier, while globally numbers of donations reached record levels.
In terms of donating money, the UK was the fifth most generous country in 2021, with 65% of the population giving to charities.
However, it ranked 55th in terms of volunteering, with 24% of British adults estimated to have volunteered in 2021.
The UK ranked 97th for “helping a stranger”, with 52% of the population estimated to have offered assistance to someone they didn’t know.
The UK’s overall position, of 17th, is up from 22nd position a year earlier but below its average position of seventh for the ten-year period 2009-2018.
More people than ever donated to charities in 2021
CAF’s index is based on data from Gallup’s World View World Poll, including data for 119 countries.
The report found many high-income countries rose up the ranking after seeing a steep decline in scores in 2018, which continued and even accelerated during the first year of the pandemic.
Some low-and-middle-income countries tended to see increased scores during the first year of the pandemic, with further rises in 2021, most notably for volunteering and helping a stranger.
Despite a global pandemic, and the economic hardship experienced by many communities worldwide, more people than ever donated money to charities in 2021, with 35% estimated to have done so in 2021.
Meanwhile, 62% of people around the world were estimated to have helped a stranger last year, which was also a record high.
Indonesia had the highest overall generosity score for the fifth year in a row with an index of 68%, largely unchanged since 2020 (69%). Indonesia has the highest rate of donating (84%) and volunteering (63%) in the world.
Neil Heslop, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said Covid-19 has affected the world’s poorest and vulnerable the most.
He said: “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.”
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