How Long Do UK Charities Actually Last? Survival and Longevity from the Register

Of every charity ever registered in England and Wales, roughly half no longer appears on the Charity Commission register. The full register extract, published by the Charity Commission under the Open Government Licence, records 357,356 main charities in total, of which 171,607 are currently active and 185,749 have been removed.^[1] The median age at which a charity is removed is 20 years.

That headline figure needs careful reading. Removal from the register is not the same as failure. Charities are removed because they merge with a larger body, because their founders voluntarily wind them up once a project is complete, because they transfer activities to a successor, or because they collapse financially or face regulatory action. The register records all of these outcomes in the same way: the charity is removed, and its removal date is logged.

What the data does show, beyond any doubt, is that running a registered charity for the long term is harder than it looks at registration day. This article works through what the numbers actually say, where the risk is concentrated, and what trustees can do with this information.

The full underlying dataset and methodology are available in our UK Charity Survival and Longevity Index.

What the register data covers

The Charity Commission for England and Wales maintains the public register of charities. The full register download, released under OGL v3.0, includes both currently registered (active) charities and those that have been removed, along with each charity's registration date and, where applicable, removal date and last reported income.

Our analysis covers main charities only. Linked charities (subsidiary charity numbers attached to the same institution) are excluded, as they would distort both the count and the survival calculations. Earlier registration years (before 1980) have incomplete digital records and are not included in the cohort analysis. Recent cohorts from 2017 onwards are excluded from the survival rate series because fewer than ten years of exposure makes the survival figures unrepresentative of long-run attrition.^[1]

Income figures in the income band analysis reflect each charity's last reported income before removal. This is the most recent figure available on the register, not necessarily the income in the year of removal.

The headline numbers

The register records 357,356 main charities ever registered. Of those, 171,607 (48.0%) remain active and 185,749 (52.0%) have been removed.^[1]

The median age at removal across all 185,749 removed charities is 20 years. The distribution is wide: some charities are removed within a year or two of registration; others operate for 40 or 50 years before closing or merging. The median is the midpoint of that range.

Cohort survival: what the long-run data shows

A cohort survival rate asks a simple question: of all the charities registered in a given year, what proportion are still on the register today? For cohorts that are now 40-plus years old, the rate has had time to converge towards its long-run level. For cohorts registered in the last decade, the rate is still high because most of those charities have not yet reached the period of highest attrition.

The table below shows selected cohorts from 1980 to 2016, with the number registered, the number removed, the number still active, the survival rate, and the median age at which removed charities from that cohort were removed.^[1]

Registration year	Registered	Removed	Active	Survival rate	Median age at removal (years)
1980	3,904	2,540	1,364	34.9%	21
1985	3,776	2,498	1,278	33.8%	18
1990	4,073	2,630	1,443	35.4%	16
1995	8,495	5,217	3,278	38.6%	14
2000	5,473	3,147	2,326	42.5%	11
2005	5,140	2,394	2,746	53.4%	10
2010	6,166	1,955	4,211	68.3%	7
2015	5,316	1,011	4,305	81.0%	6
2016	5,963	1,081	4,882	81.9%	6

Two patterns stand out.

First, the 1980s cohorts have converged to a long-run survival rate of roughly one in three. The 1980 cohort is at 34.9%, the 1985 cohort at 33.8%, and the 1990 cohort at 35.4%. After more than 40 years of operation, two thirds of the charities registered in each of those years are no longer on the register.

Second, the apparent improvement in survival rates for more recent cohorts is partly a function of age, not resilience. The 2015 and 2016 cohorts show survival rates above 81%, but those charities are only around ten years old. The median age at removal for those cohorts among the charities that have already been removed is just six years. As these cohorts age, their survival rates will fall towards the long-run pattern seen for older cohorts. The 2010 cohort at 68.3% survival and the 2005 cohort at 53.4% illustrate the trajectory.

The 1993 and 1994 bulge: a data note

The 1993 cohort (12,748 registered) and the 1994 cohort (11,782 registered) are significantly larger than surrounding years. This reflects a reclassification exercise in which charities previously exempt from registration were brought onto the register, rather than an actual surge in new charity formation. The 1993 cohort shows a survival rate of 30.5%, slightly below the long-run average, which may partly reflect the inclusion of older institutions that were already in decline at the point of registration.^[1]

Removal by income size

The register records last reported income for each removed charity. The income band breakdown shows where removal is most concentrated by reported size.^[1]

Last reported income	Charities removed	Median age at removal (years)
Under £25,000	68,810	20
£25,000 to £250,000	17,266	17
£250,000 to £1 million	3,779	17
Over £1 million	1,521	20

The largest removal group by count is charities with last reported income under £25,000. These are typically small community organisations with limited paid staff, high dependence on volunteer capacity, and narrow funding bases. The median removal age of 20 years matches the overall median, which suggests that small charities do not close dramatically faster than larger ones: they just face a steady attrition over the same long timeline.

Charities in the £25,000 to £250,000 and £250,000 to £1 million bands show a slightly lower median removal age of 17 years. This may reflect that mid-size charities face a particular tension: they are large enough to carry overhead and staff costs, but not large enough to have the financial resilience of major charities. They have outgrown the informality of the very small charity but have not yet built the endowment or diverse income streams of the large charity.

It is important not to over-read the income band data. Income at removal is a point-in-time figure from the last annual return before removal, and some charities will have seen income fall sharply in the period leading up to removal. A charity removed with £10,000 in last reported income may have had a much larger income at its peak.

What "removed" actually means: the importance of framing

Trustees reading this data should resist the temptation to treat every removal as a failure. The Charity Commission removes charities from the register for a range of reasons:

• Merger and transfer of undertakings. A charity may merge with a larger or more financially stable body, transferring its assets, beneficiaries and purposes to the successor. The merged-in charity is removed from the register; its work continues under a different registration number.
• Voluntary dissolution. A charity set up to achieve a specific purpose (funding a piece of research, restoring a building, supporting a community through a particular challenge) may dissolve once that purpose has been fulfilled. This is a successful ending, not a failure.
• Change of legal form. A charitable unincorporated association converting to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) will be removed from the register under its old number and registered under a new one. The charity continues; only the registration record changes.
• Financial collapse or regulatory action. Some removals do result from insolvency, an inability to carry on charitable activities, or Commission intervention following governance failures.

The register data does not separate these categories cleanly. The survival rate figures in this article therefore reflect the full range of outcomes, including both planned and unplanned endings. Trustees should use this data as a prompt for governance conversations, not as a verdict on their organisation.

What this means for trustee decisions

The data raises three practical questions for any trustee board.

Reserves policy: how much is enough?

The Charity Commission expects trustees of charities preparing accruals accounts to document a reserves policy and explain in the trustees' annual report why they hold the level of free reserves they do. The long-run attrition data gives this a concrete grounding. A charity holding three months of operating costs as free reserves is less well-placed to navigate an unexpected funding gap than one holding six months. There is no universally correct number: the right level depends on the charity's income stability, cost base, contractual obligations and the speed with which it could reduce expenditure if needed.

Our charity accounts preparation service includes a reserves policy review as part of the annual accounts process. Our charity bookkeeping service provides trustees with monthly management accounts that make the free reserves position visible throughout the year, not only at year end.

Sustainability review: is the purpose still achievable?

Many charities close not because of financial failure but because the world changed around them. A charity set up to address a need that no longer exists, or that has been taken over by statutory provision, can find itself unable to demonstrate public benefit. The Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit is clear: charities must provide benefit to the public, and trustees should review regularly whether their purposes and activities still do so.

The median removal age of 20 years suggests that the majority of charity closures happen well into an organisation's life, not in the early years. This is consistent with an organisation that registered with genuine purpose, operated successfully, and eventually faced a point at which continuing in the same form was no longer viable or appropriate.

Merger and consolidation: the earlier, the better

The data on mid-size charities (£25,000 to £1 million in last reported income, with a median removal age of 17 years) is a prompt for boards to consider merger as a planned option, not a last resort. Charities that approach merger conversations from a position of reasonable financial health have more choice about who they merge with and on what terms. Charities that wait until financial pressure is acute find that their negotiating position is weak and their options are narrow.

Trustees considering a merger or transfer of undertakings should take legal advice early and notify the Charity Commission of any significant constitutional changes. The register data shows that planned consolidation is a legitimate and common outcome: it accounts for a meaningful share of the 185,749 removals recorded.

Young charities: the early years carry distinct risks

The cohort data shows that for charities registered in the last decade, the removals that have already occurred happened at a median age of six years. This is different from the overall median of 20 years, and it points to a distinct early-stage risk profile.

Young charities are often heavily dependent on one or two founders, one or two funding relationships, and a single income stream. The governance structures required by the Charity Commission (a minimum of three trustees, a governing document, clear purposes) are in place, but the financial infrastructure of a mature charity is not. HMRC recognition for Gift Aid, a diverse donor base, earned income from services, and a track record with institutional funders take time to build.

For trustees of young charities, the most useful actions are:

• Registering for Gift Aid as early as eligible, to maximise reclaim on donations from the start. Our Gift Aid service covers registration and ongoing claims.
• Building a simple but functional financial management process before the charity grows to a size where informal arrangements break down. Our charity bookkeeping service scales to charities from early registration.
• Ensuring the governing document is suitable for the charity's intended activities and structure. A document that made sense for a small unincorporated association can become a constraint when the charity takes on employees, contracts or property.
• Completing the annual return and filing accounts on time from year one. Late filing is a warning signal the Commission monitors, and a record of prompt filing builds credibility with funders.

A word on England and Wales jurisdiction

This analysis covers charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales only. Scotland is regulated by OSCR (the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator), and Northern Ireland by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The register data, registration requirements, and scrutiny thresholds differ between jurisdictions. Scottish and Northern Irish charities should consult their respective regulators' guidance and data releases for jurisdiction-specific analysis.

Where to go next

The full dataset behind this article, including the complete cohort survival series from 1980 to 2016 and the income band analysis, is available in our UK Charity Survival and Longevity Index. The index is built from the Charity Commission full register extract and is updated as new register data is released.

For practical governance support, our charity accounts service covers annual accounts, reserves policy and the trustees' annual report. Our independent examination service provides the Charity Commission-compliant external scrutiny required for charities with gross income between £25,000 and £1 million (£40,000 and £1.5 million for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026), unless the combined test applies: income over £250,000 with gross assets over £3.26 million requires an audit instead (£500,000 and £5 million for years ending on or after 30 September 2026). Use the contact form to discuss your charity's position.

Sources

1. Charity Commission for England and Wales, full register extract, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Data processed and presented in the UK Charity Survival and Longevity Index (Trustee Tax, generated 2026-07-20). Cohort survival rate = charities from that registration year still registered, divided by total from that cohort (active + removed). Income at removal = last reported income before removal, not necessarily income in the removal year. Main charities only; linked charities excluded.