Britain – the most charitable developed nation in the world
With the Prime Minister and 100+ business leaders and Ministers on a trade visit to China – where one newspaper has described the Britain as ‘just an old European country apt for travel and study’- this article reveals the results of the ‘World Giving Index’ , with Britain at the top of the league table. More than three quarters of Britons give to good causes in a typical month, the highest proportion of any developed country surveyed. According to the Index, the only country with a higher proportion of its population donating money than the UK is Burma, where 85 per cent of people give something every month. And while we continue to give money despite the recession and economic downturn; the Index also shows increased levels of volunteering. The world – or in Britain at least – is becoming a little more generous. It would be interesting to review the rural/urban distribution of those who “give” and to look at those communities with high levels as potential centres with significant social capital.