Save the Children International

Analysis

Save the Children International is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 1999, 27 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, the advancement of health or saving of lives and the prevention or relief of poverty, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03732267). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides human resources and provides services.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Save the Children International reported income of £955.4m and spending of £955.7m, spending 100% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income fell from £988.0m to £955.4m (-3.3%), an average of -0.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 33%. Over the whole period it spent 100% of the income it received.

Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, Save the Children International sits at the 100th percentile: it is one of the largest 1% in its cause. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Cancer Research UK (£734.8m), Nuffield Health (£1.48bn) and Lloyd's Register Foundation (£691.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 99%. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.2%. Grants to other organisations totalled £233.5m. Reserves of £13.1m would cover about 0 months of spending at that rate. It employed 11,838 people.

Data notes from the register: Spending has exceeded income in each of the last three reported years, so the charity has been drawing on reserves or other funds.