People in low-income countries are giving away a far larger share of their income than those in wealthy nations, finds the 2025 World Giving Report, with Australia falling well behind the global average.
According to the report, released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), residents of low-income countries such as Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania donate an average of 1.45% of their income, or more than twice the proportion given in the world’s richest countries who donate just 0.70%, on average.
And Australia? Despite our relative prosperity, we ranked 68th out of 101 countries, with Australians donating just 0.73% of their income, below the Oceania regional average of 0.75%, and a long way behind Africa’s average of 1.54%.
“There is wide disparity, with the most dynamic cultures of giving often in countries where the populations are also much in need,” said CAF CEO Neil Heslop.
The rich give less
The generosity gap is perhaps most visible when comparing nations at the extremes. Nigeria topped the global list, with its citizens donating an extraordinary 2.83% of their income , or nearly 18 times more (proportionally) than Japan, which sits at the bottom of the rankings with just 0.16%.
Alongside Japan in the five least generous countries are wealthy European nations France and Germany, both G7 powerhouses. Meanwhile, the most generous wealthy nations were Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, followed by Saudi Arabia, although they still trail far behind several low-income nations.
Australia’s generosity in detail
The report showed that 67% of Australians had donated in some form in the past year, yet the overall percentage of income donated remained low, and only 11% of Australians reported donating to aid or disaster relief, and just 8% to overseas relief despite the increasing frequency and visibility of global crises.
Heslop argues that generosity is driven not by wealth or comfort, but by a perceived necessity to help those close to us.
“Giving does not necessarily correlate with wealth or even security, but rather on the perception of necessity,” he said.
He also warned that in a time of shrinking government aid, global instability, and rising humanitarian need, individual giving is more critical than ever, and yet, it’s those with the least who seem to give the most.
Heslop says the path forward will require not just individual will, but supportive policy environments: “People report that they give more in places where their governments encourage it.”
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