Total giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, 1968–2008

2. 2

2. 2

2. 1

2.0

1. 9

1. 8

1. 8

1. 7

1. 7

1968

1973

1978

1983

1988

1993

1998

2003

2008

 

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 2007 to 2008 by 3. 3 percent in current terms and by 1. 1 percent, adjusted for inflation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the federal government, which adjusts for inflation differently than Giving USA does.

Giving is estimated to be 2. 2 percent of GDP. This level is a slight decline from an estimated 2. 3 percent in 2007. For the period from 1998 to 2007, giving averaged 2. 2 percent of GDP. In that time, it ranged from a low of 2.0 percent (1998) to a high of 2. 4 percent (in 2005).

The 2. 2 percent average from 1998 to 2007 is the highest 10-year average in the 40-year history tracked in this edition of Giving USA. For the period from 1968 to 1977, giving averaged 1. 9 percent of GDP. For the two successive periods of 1978 to 1987 and 1988 to 1997, giving was, on average, 1. 8 percent of GDP.