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The figure quoted for the number of charities in the UK is usually about 170k. That's the number of registered charities with the Charity Commission E&W but the number of charities in the UK is far higher. No one really knows for sure but the total figure for UK non-profits is about 0.5 million, of which charities represent about 80%. This resource breaks down UK charity numbers to answer the question of how many charities there are in the UK.
| Location/Type | Number |
| England & Wales | 360,079 |
| Scotland | 45,000 |
| Northern Ireland | 7,205 |
| Total UK Charities | 412,282 |
| Social Enterprises | 76,335 |
| Total UK Non-Profits | 488,619 |
| Location/Type | Number | Notes/Source |
| Charity Commission E&W | 170.080 | Charity Commission registered charity numbers Apr 24, but doesn't include linked charities. |
| Exempt Charities E&W | 80,000 | No-one really knows, David Ainsworth Civil Society 2015 article estimate 80k. Includes universities, housing associations, academy schools and museums. |
| Excepted Charities E&W | 9,999 | Civil Society article 2015 – well over 10k. Includes churches, scout and guide groups, with income under £100k pa. |
| Unregistered charities UK | 100,000 | See below |
| Scotland | 45,000 | Estimated 45k voluntary organisations, half registered as charities, about 30k small community groups: 700 charities of £1+m. SCVO data source – 24k registered charities |
| Northern Ireland | 7,205 | |
| Estimated Total | 412,284 |
The number of unregistered charities is unknown. The NAO Briefing July 2012 – below £5k threshold estimated these to be about 100k and more recent work (Third Sector Research Centre, Jan 2025), guessed about 900,000 but that was based on counting almost any type of organisations of any size, in a very small area. We define an unregistered charity as a constituted non profit group that has been organised for a purpose and is governed and which may not be a charity in terms of the legal definition but which would be seen by most people to be charitable in nature.
The total number of registered charities in Scotland as at end 2023 was 25,107 but this included 1,246 Cross Border Charities, which are also registered with the Charity Commission E&W.
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) has estimated there are between 11,000 and 16,500 charities currently operating in Northern Ireland, ranging from churches, clubs and drop-in groups to societies and umbrella groups, so registration will be a managed process over coming years. The total number of registered charities in Northern Ireland was 7,205 in Apr 24.
| Income Band | Numbers | % |
| £0 to £10,000 | 206698 | 58% |
| £10,001 to £100,000 | 94874 | 27% |
| £100,001 to £500,000 | 36849 | 10% |
| £500,001 to £5,000,000 | 15400 | 4% |
| £5,000,000 plus | 3575 | 1% |
| Total | 357396 |
| Location/Type | Number | Notes/Source |
| Social Enterprises | 70,000 | Social Enterprise UK State of the Sector Report 2015 - 70,000 social enterprises in the UK. |
| CICs | 29,000 | CIC regulator 22/23 annual report – 29k |
| Community Benefit Societies (CBC) | FCA registered, benefits the community, may, or may not be a charity. | |
| Cooperatives | 7,000 | Not a charity, exists for benefit of individual members. Includes credit unions. FCA registered. Estimated to be 7000. |
| Estimated Total | 77,000 |
CICs, CBC and Cooperatives are social enterprises. I can't find a number for CBCs but they are a bit unusual, so my guess is maybe in the region of 1000 to 2000. A Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) is not a legal structure but a tax categorisation by HMRC. In Nov 24, HMRC records listed 7,878.
All 3 regulators allow data to be downloaded as a .csv file.
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Here are the main assumptions in the model:
