UK here - agreed. I don't know anyone working at a corporation where annual raises aren't a thing, they might be small(3-4% if you aren't doing well on your performance review) but they almost seem mandatory.
UK as well, pay raises have fluctuated between 1.5% and 15% during my career. Only one year (2009) did I not receive a raise and that was down to the small agency I was working for at the time having a mortgage lender as a primary client. Not the easiest of years for them.
They are a fixture in the U.S., too, in my experience.