MANILA — The Philippines remains one of the most generous countries in the world despite facing challenges, such as natural disasters, with a new study showing that 78 percent of Filipinos donated money last year to charities or directly to people in need.
This was according to the findings of the World Giving Report 2026 conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation and released on Wednesday. The survey involved 60,443 respondents across 105 countries.
Based on the results, the percentage of Filipinos who donated money in 2025 went up to 78 percent from 75 percent in 2024. This was also higher than the global average of 61 percent and the average of 65 percent recorded among Asian countries.
Recipients
When it comes to where the money was donated, 45 percent went directly to people in need, 31 percent were given through religious organizations, while 24 percent went to charities.
Of the money that went to charities, around 60 percent was given to local organizations, 30 percent to national charities and 10 percent to international charities.
On average, the report noted that Filipinos give away 1.5 percent of their income to charity. This places the Philippines at 19th place among countries with the highest percentage of income given to charity, with Nigeria ranked first at 2.8 percent.
Aside from money, the study found that 47 percent of Filipinos said they donated goods to a charity or a person in need and 28 percent said they participated in unpaid volunteer work. Both results were higher than the global average of 32 percent and 24 percent, respectively, for donating goods and doing volunteer work.
Generous
“Filipinos are generous … Giving is a natural expression of ‘bayanihan (community spirit),’” Milet Aquino, communications officer of the Association of Foundations, said during the online launch of the report.
“It’s really about looking out for one another. It’s community solidarity in action, whether that’s a large donation or that’s P19 that comes from the heart,” she added.
Aquino noted that the main reason why Filipinos choose to donate is that they care about the cause of the charity and want to make a difference. Setting an example for others or being motivated by a personal or loved one’s experience were the other top motivators.
When it comes to why some Filipinos choose not to donate, Aquino said the main reasons were that they either prefer to give other forms of support such as food or supplies, or they could not afford it.
She also pointed out that Filipinos prefer supporting local charities as compared to larger, international organizations.
“They want to make sure that the donations hit close to home and support their own localities, especially for those that grew up in the provinces and rural areas. They want to make sure that their donations actually also uplift where they came from,” Aquino noted. (Gillian Villanueva © inquirerdotnetINQUIRER.net)
