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We have compiled the latest updates on impact bonds around the world from our Impact Bond Dataset.

Global impact bond landscape

Total
292
Impact bonds
USD
> 764m
Capital raised
USD
1,192,360
Median
  • Calculations are based on the variable "Total Investment Commitment - Exact Amount in USD". When projects have minimum and maximum values (instead of exact amount of investment commitment), we include minimum values in the overall sum.
  • The investment figure is based on available data from 234 projects.
Service users
>2,598,620
Median
480
Service users
Average duration
4 years (approx)
48 months (approx)
  • The service user figure is based on available data from 239 projects. 54 projects have data on actual number of service users, 185 projects have data on target number of service users and 53 projects do not have data on service users.
  • The average duration of service delivery is based on available data from 262 projects.

Stage of development of impact bonds

* Projects fall under the 'service delivery complete' category when they finished delivering services, but they haven't received the last outcome payment yet. Data definitions for the Impact Bond Dataset can be found here.

Global impact bonds by policy area

Leading impact bond countries

(by number of impact bonds)

Impact bond landscape in the UK

UK total
98
Impact Bonds
GBP
> 75 m
Capital raised
GBP
843,334
Median
  • When projects have minimum and maximum values (instead of exact amount of investment commitment), we include minimum values in the overall sum.
  • This figure is based on available data from 76 projects.

Stage of development of impact bonds in the UK

* Projects fall under the 'service delivery complete' category when they finished delivering services, but they haven't received the last outcome payment yet.

Service users
> 118,150
Median
407.5
Service users
Average duration
51 months (approx)
4.3 years (approx)
  • The service user figure for the UK is based on available data for 80 projects. 28 projects reported data on actual number of engaged service users, 52 projects reported data of target number of engaged service users and 18 projects did not report data on service users.
  • The average duration of service delivery is based on available data from 91 projects.

UK impact bonds by policy area

Notes

Please read our new Dictionary of Data Definitions and have a look at the open-source code on our GitHub site.

Service users

The number of service users is a combination of two values. Completed projects have data on the actual number of service users and ongoing projects have data on target number of service users. If we have data on actual numbers, we will use them. If the project only has data for targets, we will use target numbers. This calculation is based on the variables "Service and beneficiaries - Targeted number of unique service users or beneficiaries" and "Service and beneficiaries - Actual number of unique service users or beneficiaries". In future we propose to report on these figures separately.

Capital raised

The final figure of capital raised is based on the variables "Total Investment Commitment - Exact Amount in USD" (for the global landscape) and "Total Investment Commitment - Exact Amount in relevant currency" (for the UK landscape). This figure is calculated using only data that are publicly available.

Source: GO Lab INDIGO Impact Bond Dataset, 13 March, 2024.

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