Oxfam vs UNICEF UK
In short: Oxfam GB runs humanitarian, development and campaigning work as an Oxfam International affiliate and sells donated goods in its UK shops. UNICEF UK raises money for UNICEF’s work for children and runs UK children’s-rights schemes.
Last reviewed by CharityCompare editorial.
Oxfam GB works against poverty for people of any age, while UNICEF UK raises funds for UNICEF’s work for children. In 2024/25 Oxfam GB put 52% of its charitable spending into humanitarian work and reports 9.21 million people supported in countries where it is the executing affiliate. UNICEF UK recorded most of its 2025 charitable spending for UNICEF programmes. Neither figure measures lasting change.
Oxfam vs UNICEF UK: key differences
| What to compare | OXFAM | THE UNITED KINGDOM COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF |
|---|---|---|
| Registered work and operating model | Humanitarian relief, development and campaigning against poverty, as an affiliate of Oxfam International, with UK shops. | UNICEF national committee raising funds for UNICEF’s work for children worldwide, plus UK programmes. |
| What to consider | Its 9.21 million people covers only countries where Oxfam GB is the executing affiliate, not the whole confederation. Its £124.0 million of humanitarian spending includes £24.2 million of donated goods distributed to people. | In 2025, £73 million went to programmes or countries chosen by donors and £23 million to UNICEF’s core programmes, while £10 million funded its UK advocacy and programmes. It works with UNICEF under a co-operation agreement. |
| Access and practical checks | Check whether an appeal is for a named emergency or general funds. Donated goods are sold through its 515 high street shops, and its trading company, Oxfam Activities Limited, sells bought-in goods. | Check whether a gift is for a named country or emergency or for UNICEF’s core work. Its UK programmes, such as the Rights Respecting Schools Award, are taken up by schools, health services and local areas. |
| Sourced result or evidence gap | 9.21 million: People supported with partners. 2024/25, countries where Oxfam GB is the executing affiliate; 8.05 million through humanitarian response and 51% women and girls. A charity-reported output with no counting method given. | Over 3.25 million: Children reached through its three UK programmes. 2025, UK. A charity-reported output, and the report does not say whether a child in more than one programme is counted once. |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our methodology. Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it (how it works).
These snapshots have different latest accounts years. Compare the same period in the full profiles before drawing a conclusion from a financial difference.
| Metric | OXFAM | THE UNITED KINGDOM COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF |
|---|---|---|
| Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2024 |
| Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 |
| Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg |
| Overall score | 60/100 (3★) | 57/100 (2★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 75/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 68% of expenditure | 74% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £3.1 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £4.8 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) |
| Cost to raise £1 of donations | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 93% of donations | 29p per £1 (2024) · 22p over 2022–2024 |
| Latest income | £339m | £135m |
| Fundraising spend | 32% of expenditure | 21% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 2 months | 1 month |
| Accounts filing | Late | On time |
| Data confidence | medium | high |
| Charity number | 202918 | 1072612 |
OXFAM on the register · THE UNITED KINGDOM COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF on the register
Considering Oxfam GB
- You want to fund humanitarian response, development and campaigning against poverty, not limited to children.
- You can give goods as well as money, through its high street shops.
Considering UNICEF UK
- You want your gift to support UNICEF’s work for children, through a programme you choose or through core funding.
- You also value UK children’s-rights programmes in schools and health services.
Oxfam vs UNICEF UK: questions answered
Oxfam or UNICEF UK: which should I support?
There is no universal winner. Oxfam GB works on poverty through humanitarian, development and campaigning work for people of any age; UNICEF UK raises funds for UNICEF’s work for children and runs UK children’s-rights programmes. Choose the focus you want, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment.
Does money given to Oxfam GB go to Oxfam International?
Some does. In 2024/25 Oxfam GB paid £9.5 million to Oxfam International, £7.1 million of it as a contribution to the Oxfam International Secretariat, and made £22,296,000 in grants to other Oxfam affiliates. Oxfam International is a separate charitable foundation registered in the Netherlands, and affiliates do not control one another.
How does UNICEF UK relate to UNICEF?
UNICEF UK is a UK charitable company (charity 1072612, also registered in Scotland) and one of 32 UNICEF national committees. It raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work, and a co-operation agreement sets out how UNICEF and its national committees work together.
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.