– By Richard Gott / MemberWise Network Founder & Chair
– Membership Sector Influencer & Thought Leader

The MemberWise Network represents over 8,000 professionals employed by 2,500 leading membership organisations and associations in the UK, European Union (EU) and beyond. We proudly host the official list of the largest and most influential membership organisations in the UK.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

The Influence 100 is the list of the largest and most influential membership organisations based in the United Kingdom. The list is ranked by total membership size and is updated annually by the MemberWise Network. The latest version of the list features below.

There are over 8,000 membership organisations and associations based in the United Kingdom (with memberships of over 1,000 individuals/organisations). The figure for smaller organisations (including local sports clubs and societies) is likely to be far higher at approximately 50,000.

Over 80% of membership organisations and associations based in the UK are located in Central or Greater London with many (particularly those representing professions/trades and/or responsible for lobbying activity) are based there due to the traditional requirement to be close to central government.

The UK has an estimated population of 68.7 million citizens and it is estimated that at least 55m belong to some kind of membership organisation/association either:

– Retail (e.g. loyalty card)
– National (e.g. The National Trust
– Local (e.g. local church/library)

Circa. 14 million British citizens belong to over 450 professional membership organisations (of which 145 are Chartered Bodies) and there are 160 trade unions representing an estimated 8 million individuals (5.6 million are members of unions affiliated to the Trade Union Congress).

We estimate there to be over 50,000 membership organisations and associations based (with over 1,000 members) in the European Union. Over 1,500 are based in Brussels alone. The figure for smaller organisations is likely to be far higher at approximately 250,000.

In the United States of America (USA) there are a total of 22,200 associations and 115,000 with state, regional or local scope. There are 22,300 multinational, binational, and non-US national associations. The majority of associations in the US have headquarters in Washington, New York, or Chicago.

Back in 1996 the average Briton belonged to six membership organisations and according to a YouGov poll in 2006 this number increased to an average of 17. The poll also indicated that the fastest expanding membership organisations are online communities (with growth from 2.8 million to 72 million in just one year) and that the average adult belonged to 8.

The YouGov poll also indicated that the average adult belonged to two community organisations (e.g. local public library and a faith group) and three retail organisations (e.g. Nectar, Tesco Clubcard, the AA and Boots Advantage Card). The biggest of these entities being the AA and the Boots Advantage Card scheme which have memberships of approximately 14.4 million members.

MemberWise estimates the average UK citizen spends  approximately £60 per month (or £720 per year) on subscriptions like Netflix/Amazon Prime. An average monthly gym membership costs between £35 and £50 per month (or between £420 and £600 per year) and the average annual professional body/trade association membership is approximately £21 per month (or £252).

Based on the diversity of the organisations that feature on our list most have seen increases, however more recently some have seen a decline due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

On average our list shows a 10% increase (averaging 1.25% growth per annum), however there are some that have seen significant decline.

For example in 1979 UK trade union membership topped 13.2 million members, however this number has declined to 6.23 million members over the past 4 decades. The knock-on effect of this drop has seen membership of the Trade Unions Congress (3rd largest membership organisation on our list) decline by over 50% (from 12.2 million members to 5.7 million members).

Membership of the main political parties (most featuring in our list) have seen a 25% decline since 1964.

The Largest 100 UK Membership Bodies (Influence 100) List (2023)

(c) MemberWise 2023 (List Updated: 18/04/2023)

The Influence 100 List (2023) Entry Criteria

Our current criteria for entry on to the list is that membership bodies should have a UK Headquarters and membership is optional in return for a membership fee.

– A headquarters based in the United Kingdom

– Membership is optional and charged for directly via an annual membership fee

– Over 50% of members (voting or equivalent) live or work in the UK

What is the role and purpose of the MemberWise Network?

As the leading free professional network for membership and association professionals we support circa 7,500 professionals working in over 2,500 medium/large membership organisations and associations.

2/3rds of our members work within medium/large professional bodies (individual membership) and 1/3 represent leading trade associations (corporate membership). We also represent other types of membership organisations and associations outlined here.

The network enables membership and association professionals (at all levels and career stages) to:

– Increase new member acquisition
– Improve existing member retention
– Optimise and develop member engagement
– Enhance member value
– Facilitate greater member participation
– Enable sustainable long-term growth

This is achieved via practical tools and resources including our comprehensive website (www.memberwise.org.uk), our growing programme of conferences and seminars, our thriving online community (MemberWise Connect), MemberWise Learn (our online learning portal), MemberWise Recognised Supplier Directory, membership sector research reports & publications, weekly newsletter and Jobs Board.

These resources are supplemented by a range of advisory, consultancy and membership focused training services (view membership body case studies/clients).

Join our free and growing professional network today!

(c) 2023 – MemberWise Network (all rights reserved)