Defining the nonprofit sector: a cross-national analysis

TLDR

The non‑profit sector has experienced rapid growth worldwide. This paper aims to offer a unified definition and classification of the non‑profit sector while acknowledging international diversity. The authors present country‑by‑country definitions for 13 representative states—including the USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan, India, Brazil, Egypt, and Hungary—from developed, developing, and post‑socialist contexts. The analysis shows that the public‑private dichotomy is insufficient, and that the third sector, with distinct characteristics and dynamics, is a powerful global economic force.

Abstract

The growth of the non-profit, voluntary or third sector has been widely recognized throughout the world. This text seeks to provide a definition and a common classification of the non-profit sector, while recognizing the great diversity of voluntarism internationally. The remainder of the text is devoted to country-by-country definitions of the sector in 13 representative states from the developed, developing and post-socialist worlds. Among the countries covered are: USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan, India, Brazil, Egypt and Hungary. The study demonstrates that the division of societies into public and private is too simplistic, and that a third sector with its own characteristic features and dynamics has already emerged as a powerful force in the global economy.