Spread of charities across the country. Click image for graphic
When politicians like David Cameron talk about "big society" or the "third sector", it's often hard to know what they mean. Indeed, precise definitions are often contested. But one relatively uncontroversial concept is "civil society", defined by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations as "people acting together, independently of the state or the market, to make a positive difference to their lives and/or the lives of others".
Download the full datasheetThe NCVO, the umbrella group for voluntary organisations, has just published its Almanac of the third sector in England and Wales and has given us the data.
It shows that this very broad umbrella covers not just voluntary organisations, but also political parties, trade unions and even universities and independent schools. Overall, it amounts to 900,000 organisations with combined income of £157bn employing 1.6m paid staff.
Voluntary effort is not evenly spread, however. And it is not always found where it is most needed. Analysis of where charities are based suggests there are more than three times as many in well-heeled parts of Somerset and Dorset as in some deprived northern districts, even allowing for administrative factors that mean by far the most are based in the City of London.
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have all made big play of the power of the third sector. What can you do with the data?
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Data summary
|
Local authority
|
Charities per 1000 population
|
Charities
|
|---|---|---|
|
Source: NCVO, Charity Commission for England and Wales |
||
| Adur | 1.88 | 114 |
| Allerdale | 4.51 | 426 |
| Alnwick | 4.75 | 154 |
| Amber Valley | 2.54 | 307 |
| Arun | 2.21 | 324 |
| Ashfield | 1.29 | 150 |
| Ashford | 3.63 | 412 |
| Aylesbury Vale | 4.28 | 753 |
| Babergh | 5.11 | 445 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 1.18 | 199 |
| Barnet | 4.88 | 1,617 |
| Barnsley | 1.5 | 338 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 1.73 | 124 |
| Basildon | 1.37 | 237 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 2.88 | 465 |
| Bassetlaw | 2.63 | 295 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 3.72 | 671 |
| Bedford | 3.58 | 557 |
| Berwick-upon-Tweed | 5.17 | 134 |
| Bexley | 1.26 | 282 |
| Birmingham | 1.79 | 1,822 |
| Blaby | 1.95 | 182 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 1.57 | 221 |
| Blackpool | 0.87 | 123 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 1.3 | 90 |
| Blyth Valley | 1.45 | 118 |
| Bolsover | 1.62 | 120 |
| Bolton | 1.32 | 347 |
| Boston | 3.31 | 193 |
| Bournemouth | 1.76 | 289 |
| Bracknell Forest | 1.82 | 209 |
| Bradford | 1.62 | 814 |
| Braintree | 3.23 | 459 |
| Breckland | 4.31 | 568 |
| Brent | 1.87 | 506 |
| Brentwood | 3.18 | 233 |
| Bridgend | 1.74 | 235 |
| Bridgnorth | 4.2 | 219 |
| Brighton and Hove | 2.33 | 597 |
| Bristol, City of | 2.71 | 1,143 |
| Broadland | 3.53 | 435 |
| Bromley | 2.25 | 680 |
| Bromsgrove | 2.28 | 212 |
| Broxbourne | 1.72 | 155 |
| Broxtowe | 1.79 | 201 |
| Burnley | 1.23 | 107 |
| Bury | 1.88 | 344 |
| Caerphilly | 1.39 | 240 |
| Calderdale | 2.24 | 453 |
| Cambridge | 4.02 | 494 |
| Camden | 7.23 | 1,705 |
| Cannock Chase | 1.47 | 139 |
| Canterbury | 3.03 | 453 |
| Caradon | 3.69 | 310 |
| Cardiff | 2.09 | 680 |
| Carlisle | 3.14 | 326 |
| Carmarthenshire | 3.54 | 639 |
| Carrick | 4.18 | 388 |
| Castle Morpeth | 3.73 | 187 |
| Castle Point | 1.22 | 110 |
| Ceredigion | 5.1 | 398 |
| Charnwood | 2.23 | 372 |
| Chelmsford | 2.85 | 477 |
| Cheltenham | 2.71 | 303 |
| Cherwell | 3.36 | 465 |
| Chester | 3.81 | 457 |
| Chesterfield | 1.89 | 191 |
| Chester-le-Street | 2.09 | 111 |
| Chichester | 5.18 | 572 |
| Chiltern | 5.19 | 472 |
| Chorley | 1.88 | 197 |
| Christchurch | 1.75 | 80 |
| City of London | 118.73 | 938 |
| Colchester | 2.56 | 463 |
| Congleton | 2.53 | 234 |
| Conwy | 3.22 | 361 |
| Copeland | 3.23 | 227 |
| Corby | 1.63 | 91 |
| Cotswold | 7.29 | 609 |
| Coventry | 1.4 | 433 |
| Craven | 5.94 | 334 |
| Crawley | 1.36 | 138 |
| Crewe and Nantwich | 1.78 | 209 |
| Croydon | 2 | 682 |
| Dacorum | 2.92 | 407 |
| Darlington | 1.69 | 170 |
| Dartford | 1.78 | 164 |
| Daventry | 4.64 | 370 |
| Denbighshire | 3.65 | 356 |
| Derby | 1.59 | 381 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 6.34 | 448 |
| Derwentside | 1.66 | 146 |
| Doncaster | 1.51 | 441 |
| Dover | 3.16 | 338 |
| Dudley | 1.64 | 504 |
| Durham | 2.66 | 256 |
| Ealing | 1.86 | 576 |
| Easington | 1.34 | 128 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 3.61 | 297 |
| East Devon | 4.5 | 597 |
| East Dorset | 3.25 | 279 |
| East Hampshire | 4.04 | 451 |
| East Hertfordshire | 4.09 | 554 |
| East Lindsey | 3.78 | 533 |
| East Northamptonshire | 3.1 | 267 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 2.79 | 936 |
| East Staffordshire | 2.74 | 299 |
| Eastbourne | 2.22 | 213 |
| Eastleigh | 2.22 | 269 |
| Eden | 7.71 | 400 |
| Ellesmere Port & Neston | 1.55 | 127 |
| Elmbridge | 2.95 | 391 |
| Enfield | 1.57 | 451 |
| Epping Forest | 2.6 | 322 |
| Epsom and Ewell | 2.17 | 157 |
| Erewash | 1.65 | 184 |
| Exeter | 3.77 | 465 |
| Fareham | 1.72 | 190 |
| Fenland | 2.34 | 215 |
| Flintshire | 2.25 | 340 |
| Forest Heath | 2.32 | 150 |
| Forest of Dean | 4.1 | 336 |
| Fylde | 2.13 | 163 |
| Gateshead | 1.73 | 330 |
| Gedling | 1.65 | 185 |
| Gloucester | 2.52 | 290 |
| Gosport | 1.34 | 107 |
| Gravesham | 1.81 | 177 |
| Great Yarmouth | 2.06 | 194 |
| Greenwich | 1.86 | 415 |
| Guildford | 3.75 | 509 |
| Gwynedd | 4.87 | 576 |
| Hackney | 5.16 | 1,096 |
| Halton | 1.49 | 178 |
| Hambleton | 5.94 | 517 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 2.68 | 461 |
| Harborough | 4.81 | 398 |
| Haringey | 2.48 | 562 |
| Harlow | 1.42 | 112 |
| Harrogate | 4.57 | 733 |
| Harrow | 2.62 | 567 |
| Hart | 2.8 | 254 |
| Hartlepool | 1.3 | 119 |
| Hastings | 2.25 | 194 |
| Havant | 1.68 | 197 |
| Havering | 1.33 | 305 |
| Herefordshire, County of | 5.23 | 938 |
| Hertsmere | 2.93 | 289 |
| High Peak | 3.05 | 284 |
| Hillingdon | 1.69 | 429 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | 2.14 | 225 |
| Horsham | 3.54 | 463 |
| Hounslow | 1.89 | 421 |
| Huntingdonshire | 3.29 | 556 |
| Hyndburn | 1.45 | 118 |
| Ipswich | 2.5 | 306 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 3.84 | 265 |
| Isle of Wight | 3.14 | 440 |
| Isles of Scilly | 7.14 | 15 |
| Islington | 5.57 | 1,064 |
| Kennet | 6.14 | 489 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 4.12 | 742 |
| Kerrier | 3.3 | 328 |
| Kettering | 2.5 | 227 |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 3.54 | 513 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | 1.29 | 333 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 2.09 | 334 |
| Kirklees | 1.83 | 739 |
| Knowsley | 1.08 | 163 |
| Lambeth | 2.66 | 730 |
| Lancaster | 2.73 | 392 |
| Leeds | 1.52 | 1,170 |
| Leicester | 1.76 | 520 |
| Lewes | 3.84 | 366 |
| Lewisham | 1.77 | 463 |
| Lichfield | 3.41 | 334 |
| Lincoln | 2.25 | 199 |
| Liverpool | 2.32 | 1,011 |
| Luton | 1.42 | 272 |
| Macclesfield | 2.96 | 449 |
| Maidstone | 3.34 | 486 |
| Maldon | 3.04 | 192 |
| Malvern Hills | 4.92 | 368 |
| Manchester | 1.8 | 836 |
| Mansfield | 1.68 | 169 |
| Medway | 1.55 | 394 |
| Melton | 4.24 | 209 |
| Mendip | 4.41 | 485 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 1.8 | 100 |
| Merton | 1.87 | 376 |
| Mid Bedfordshire | 3.51 | 475 |
| Mid Devon | 5.32 | 408 |
| Mid Suffolk | 5.45 | 516 |
| Mid Sussex | 3.79 | 499 |
| Middlesbrough | 1.36 | 189 |
| Milton Keynes | 2.33 | 541 |
| Mole Valley | 5.12 | 420 |
| Monmouthshire | 3.97 | 351 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 2.01 | 277 |
| New Forest | 3.06 | 536 |
| Newark and Sherwood | 3.98 | 451 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 2.13 | 582 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 1.63 | 203 |
| Newham | 1.87 | 467 |
| Newport | 1.42 | 200 |
| North Cornwall | 4.14 | 361 |
| North Devon | 4.01 | 370 |
| North Dorset | 5.02 | 341 |
| North East Derbyshire | 2.35 | 231 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 1.22 | 193 |
| North Hertfordshire | 3.17 | 393 |
| North Kesteven | 3.38 | 359 |
| North Lincolnshire | 2.2 | 353 |
| North Norfolk | 5.24 | 532 |
| North Shropshire | 4.21 | 255 |
| North Somerset | 2.64 | 546 |
| North Tyneside | 1.6 | 316 |
| North Warwickshire | 2.55 | 159 |
| North West Leicestershire | 2.41 | 219 |
| North Wiltshire | 4.15 | 553 |
| Northampton | 1.97 | 405 |
| Norwich | 3.1 | 421 |
| Nottingham | 2.11 | 617 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 1.2 | 146 |
| Oadby and Wigston | 1.59 | 91 |
| Oldham | 1.39 | 305 |
| Oswestry | 3.46 | 141 |
| Oxford | 4.13 | 636 |
| Pembrokeshire | 3.56 | 423 |
| Pendle | 1.48 | 133 |
| Penwith | 3.82 | 249 |
| Peterborough | 2.1 | 345 |
| Plymouth | 1.91 | 484 |
| Poole | 1.78 | 247 |
| Portsmouth | 1.49 | 298 |
| Powys | 6.92 | 918 |
| Preston | 2.28 | 301 |
| Purbeck | 3.65 | 168 |
| Reading | 2.35 | 343 |
| Redbridge | 1.7 | 438 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 1.38 | 193 |
| Redditch | 1.41 | 113 |
| Reigate and Banstead | 2.7 | 364 |
| Restormel | 2.45 | 254 |
| Rhondda, Cynon, Taff | 1.51 | 354 |
| Ribble Valley | 3.66 | 214 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 3.27 | 589 |
| Richmondshire | 5.2 | 268 |
| Rochdale | 1.36 | 281 |
| Rochford | 2.08 | 173 |
| Rossendale | 1.92 | 129 |
| Rother | 4.31 | 383 |
| Rotherham | 1.34 | 340 |
| Rugby | 2.76 | 253 |
| Runnymede | 2.37 | 198 |
| Rushcliffe | 2.91 | 319 |
| Rushmoor | 1.9 | 170 |
| Rutland | 4.52 | 177 |
| Ryedale | 5.83 | 312 |
| Salford | 2.02 | 446 |
| Salisbury | 4.95 | 575 |
| Sandwell | 1.08 | 311 |
| Scarborough | 3.27 | 355 |
| Sedgefield | 2.25 | 196 |
| Sedgemoor | 3.73 | 421 |
| Sefton | 1.65 | 453 |
| Selby | 3.33 | 273 |
| Sevenoaks | 4.07 | 467 |
| Sheffield | 1.82 | 974 |
| Shepway | 2.85 | 285 |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | 4.16 | 402 |
| Slough | 1.3 | 158 |
| Solihull | 2.03 | 418 |
| South Bedfordshire | 2.39 | 286 |
| South Bucks | 3.66 | 237 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 5.16 | 719 |
| South Derbyshire | 2.64 | 245 |
| South Gloucestershire | 2.33 | 601 |
| South Hams | 5.35 | 447 |
| South Holland | 3.3 | 275 |
| South Kesteven | 3.43 | 453 |
| South Lakeland | 6.83 | 713 |
| South Norfolk | 5.25 | 626 |
| South Northamptonshire | 4.57 | 416 |
| South Oxfordshire | 5.05 | 652 |
| South Ribble | 2.35 | 252 |
| South Shropshire | 6.76 | 290 |
| South Somerset | 4.52 | 717 |
| South Staffordshire | 2.29 | 244 |
| South Tyneside | 0.96 | 146 |
| Southampton | 2.11 | 495 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 1.65 | 271 |
| Southwark | 3.21 | 892 |
| Spelthorne | 1.85 | 169 |
| St Albans | 3.58 | 479 |
| St Edmundsbury | 3.74 | 388 |
| St. Helens | 1.19 | 212 |
| Stafford | 3.75 | 468 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | 2.8 | 267 |
| Stevenage | 1.32 | 106 |
| Stockport | 1.7 | 479 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 1.26 | 242 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 1.15 | 275 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 4.72 | 561 |
| Stroud | 5.13 | 568 |
| Suffolk Coastal | 5.34 | 671 |
| Sunderland | 1.22 | 343 |
| Surrey Heath | 2.6 | 217 |
| Sutton | 1.93 | 362 |
| Swale | 2.24 | 296 |
| Swansea | 1.66 | 381 |
| Swindon | 1.93 | 372 |
| Tameside | 1.29 | 279 |
| Tamworth | 1.32 | 100 |
| Tandridge | 4.11 | 343 |
| Taunton Deane | 4.2 | 456 |
| Teesdale | 5.69 | 141 |
| Teignbridge | 3.97 | 506 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 1.77 | 287 |
| Tendring | 2.03 | 300 |
| Test Valley | 3.45 | 398 |
| Tewkesbury | 3.89 | 308 |
| Thanet | 2.02 | 263 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan | 2.38 | 297 |
| Three Rivers | 2.63 | 231 |
| Thurrock | 1.2 | 182 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | 2.89 | 338 |
| Torbay | 2.11 | 283 |
| Torfaen | 2.03 | 185 |
| Torridge | 4.41 | 289 |
| Tower Hamlets | 3.18 | 701 |
| Trafford | 1.93 | 410 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 4.59 | 493 |
| Tynedale | 5.21 | 310 |
| Uttlesford | 5.56 | 410 |
| Vale of White Horse | 5.55 | 649 |
| Vale Royal | 2.9 | 368 |
| Wakefield | 1.19 | 383 |
| Walsall | 1.25 | 320 |
| Waltham Forest | 1.69 | 378 |
| Wandsworth | 2.04 | 578 |
| Wansbeck | 1.5 | 93 |
| Warrington | 1.7 | 334 |
| Warwick | 3.82 | 518 |
| Watford | 2.12 | 172 |
| Waveney | 3.42 | 402 |
| Waverley | 4.74 | 563 |
| Wealden | 4.26 | 611 |
| Wear Valley | 2.54 | 161 |
| Wellingborough | 2.63 | 201 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 2.33 | 252 |
| West Berkshire | 3.79 | 579 |
| West Devon | 5.39 | 285 |
| West Dorset | 6.31 | 613 |
| West Lancashire | 2.3 | 252 |
| West Lindsey | 4.06 | 361 |
| West Oxfordshire | 5.25 | 533 |
| West Somerset | 6.34 | 225 |
| West Wiltshire | 3.89 | 492 |
| Westminster | 11.34 | 2,676 |
| Weymouth and Portland | 2.4 | 156 |
| Wigan | 1.01 | 311 |
| Winchester | 5.47 | 616 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 3.14 | 449 |
| Wirral | 1.96 | 606 |
| Woking | 2.78 | 256 |
| Wokingham | 2.59 | 412 |
| Wolverhampton | 1.35 | 320 |
| Worcester | 2.66 | 250 |
| Worthing | 2.07 | 207 |
| Wrexham | 2.33 | 310 |
| Wychavon | 4.13 | 484 |
| Wycombe | 3.41 | 550 |
| Wyre | 2.1 | 233 |
| Wyre Forest | 2.8 | 276 |
| York | 3.35 | 655 |
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