The UK Civil Society Almanac 2020. (July 2020)

The Almanac gives an overview of the voluntary sector’s scope and characteristics, including its finances, workforce, and volunteering. This year's Almanac draws on data from the 2017/18 financial year.

The Almanac dataset was developed in partnership with the Third Sector Research Centre at the University of Birmingham, using data from the Charity Commission and a representative sample of charity accounts. Data for Scotland is provided by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), and for Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA).

Key Highlights:

Social services remains the largest subsector with 32,258 voluntary organisations, followed by culture and recreation (24,024) and religion (15,139).

19.4 million people volunteered at least once a year during 2018/19 through a group, club or organisation.

Income growth is slowing down: While income and spending increased, income growth has slowed down. In 2017/18, the sector’s total income grew by 2% to £53.5bn, with the public being one of the main drivers.

There were 166,592 organisations, mostly micro and small which are declining in number while the biggest organisations are growing.

People ages 65-74 are the age group most likely to volunteer on a regular basis.

The voluntary sector contributed £18.2bn to the economy or 0.9% of total GDP.

The voluntary sector has a paid workforce of 909,088, up 17% since 2010.

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