Volunteering Statistics By Country, Reasons, Age, Types and Average Household Income Per Capita

Maitrayee Dey
Written by
Maitrayee Dey

Updated · Oct 25, 2024

Aruna Madrekar
Edited by
Aruna Madrekar

Editor

Volunteering Statistics By Country, Reasons, Age, Types and Average Household Income Per Capita

Introduction

Volunteering Statistics: The concept of volunteering is essential in building communities and providing services that many organizations cannot afford. It also provides the volunteers with a sense of achievement. In the year 2024, there are so many people devoting their time and energy to different endeavors, which tells a lot about the importance of volunteering in this present age.

This article provides the fundamental volunteering statistics for the year 2024 while focusing on the benefits of this act to time, population, and money used.

Editor’s Choice

  • According to volunteering statistics, in the year 2024, around 970 million individuals around the world participated in some form of volunteer work, which represents about 12.5% of humanity, indicating that there is some form of a healthy community spirit in place.
  • The estimated worth of the time volunteered on a global scale is about 390 billion USD.
  • In the United States, for instance, voluntary service holds an estimated economic value of about 203.4 billion US dollars, which is largely quite helpful to the economy.
  • On the other hand, the average volunteer is expected to give around 52 hours in these various activities during the year 2024. This data translates to about an hour in a week, which indicates how little time is needed when large efforts can be realized in return.
  • The volunteers also seem to be from all demographics. In 2024, the age cohort of 35 – 44 years was the highest, with a 32% uptake, followed by the 45 – 54 years group at 26%.
  • Gender-wise, women are more likely to participate than men. Out of the volunteers, 58% were female, while male participation accounted for 42%.
  • Volunteering statistics reveal that Education-wise, about 80% of the volunteers possess at least some college education, which demonstrates that educated people are more likely to engage in such activities than uneducated ones.
  • In 2022, it was observed that around 72% of the persons in the organizations were volunteers, and 18.3% belonged to two organizations.
  • By 2023, The figure of the world’s volunteer labor force rose to one billion.
  • According to reports of surveys conducted by Deloitte, 81% of the volunteers stated that companies need to design much better volunteer activities to better the work environment.
  • In the United States, the approximate worth of the time given by volunteers was estimated at $29.95 per hour.
  • Domestically, in 2022, nearly 60% of the organizations allowed paid volunteering activities, while 80% of the corporations cutting voluntary grant programs paid between $8 and $15 per volunteering hour.
  • Among the Fortune 500 companies, 40% had a voluntary grant scheme.
  • Volunteering statistics show that about 25% of adults in the US engaged in volunteer work, which is about 63 million people.
  • Contributing to society through volunteerism, 25% of the American adult population around the age of 63 million engaged in utilizing their time, labor, and skills.
  • By the end of the year 2022, women were more involved in volunteerism than men.
  • 34.1% in religious organizations, 26% in educational organizations, 14.9% in social work, and 7.3% in the health sector.
  • 92% of those surveyed by Deloitte concurred that volunteering is a good way to enhance one’s leadership abilities.
  • In comparison to non-volunteers who did not engage in such activities, the likelihood of getting a job increased by 27% among volunteers engaged in such activities on a regular basis.
  • Moreover, 77% of the volunteers asserted that being part of the activities regularly was beneficial to their mental health, and 64% of the employees across the world stated that they enjoyed better relations with colleagues due to voluntary work.
  • In the year 2022, the value of the work done by volunteers was approximated at one hundred and twenty-three billion dollars.
  • By 2023, a survey conducted on volunteering statistics by the United Health Group indicated that 78% of volunteers reported that they felt less stressed.
  • In addition, 19 % of volunteers reported that they learned new skills as a result of their participation, and it is projected that 70% of corporate volunteers would benefit from such programs if companies were to implement such programs.
  • While an estimated 1 billion individuals across the globe are partaking in volunteering activities each year, about 64 million people in the United States alone engage in volunteer work in a year, with an added effort of a whopping 6.9 billion hours.
  • It is worth $139 billion in terms of time provided each year, which is $29.95 per average U.S.-valued volunteer hour.
  • There are approximately two million registered and active nonprofits in the country, and 85% of individuals who do volunteer work are more inclined to donate money to any nonprofit.
  • Also, more than two out of three volunteers search for available opportunities through the Internet.

General Volunteering Statistics

  • African and Asia Pacific regions had the highest rates of volunteering on a monthly basis at 17.5% and 17.2%, respectively.
  • On the negative, Regions such as the Arab States, Latin America, Europe, Central Asia, and the Caribbean registered the lowest monthly rates of volunteers, averaging in the range of 9% to 10.6%.
  • Recent volunteering statistics state that Specifically by number of monthly active participants in volunteering, the ranks of the regions were the following: Asia and the Pacific (56.3 billion), Africa (10.9 billion), Eastern and Western Europe and Central Asia (8.1 billion), Latin America and Caribbean (5.2 billion), Arab World (2.6 billion), and others (2.9 billion people) regions.
  • It was in the District of Columbia where the highest average value of volunteer hours was reported at $50.48 in the year 2022 in the United States.
  • The states of Massachusetts and California had figures of $36.38 and $35.56 respectively per hour.
  • Other states where the volunteer hour rate was significant included Washington ($34.87), New York ($34.59), Connecticut ($33.35), Maryland ($32.82), and New Jersey ($32.39).
  • The growth of corporate social responsibility initiatives has been favorable to businesses as 77% of the nonprofits that were able to engage skilled volunteers improved.
  • According to the volunteering statistics from the Deloitte Impact Survey, 89% of the working population in the United States agree that engaging in sponsored volunteer activities greatly enhances the workplace.
  • The corporate volunteerism statistics showed that 33% was the average corporate volunteer participation rate by December 2022.
  • According to volunteering statistics, 25% of organisations have already integrated skills-based volunteering, whereas 21% have expressed their intentions of engaging in volunteering to establish relationships in the future.
  • Volunteer grants provided by leading businesses attach about $750 for employees who engage in 50 hours of service under Verizon’s Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP).
  • Microsoft’s volunteer program enjoyed participation from over 30,000 employees who logged in 7.2 million hours in 2022, each notably estimated at $25 per hour.
  • ExxonMobil’s paying volunteers program paid up to $500 for individuals willing to offer a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer service.
  • Globally, in the year 2022, 46% of the volunteers opted to donate their time to nonprofit organizations.
  • As of today, it is estimated that about 2 million volunteers are engaged with nonprofits in the United States.
  • 70% of the volunteers preferred email as a means of communication, while those who used letters were about 7% and social media 6%.
  • Moreover, 56 % of those who volunteered in the nonprofit sector participated in fundraising events on a regular basis, whereas roughly 67 % of local donors were also active nonprofit volunteers.

Share Of Volunteered People By Country

Share Of People Who Volunteered In An Organization In The Asia Pacific Region In 2017, By Country*(Reference: statista.com)

  • Providing the World Around Us With Volunteering Internship 2015-2017 Approximately 52.7% of Indonesian respondents volunteered within the month preceding the survey interview.
  • Such volunteering statistics indicate that more than half the Indonesian lot was involved in voluntary service.
  • On the other hand, the average regional scope of volunteer engagement in the Asia Pacific region over the same period was much less, only 24.02%.
  • This means that Indonesia had a larger portion of the population engaging in Pakistani compared to the rest of the region, in which only about one-fourth of the population engaged in voluntary duties regularly.

Reasons People Gave For Volunteering

Main Reasons People Gave For Volunteering In England In 2021/22(Reference: statista.com)

  • During 2021/22, one of the leading reasons residents of England carried out voluntary work was the need to do something positive or to assist others.
  • Looking at the Volunteering statistics, 48% of the volunteers declared that their primary reason for coming forward to volunteer was to make things better or help people.
  • This suggests that almost half of the volunteers had some purpose that made them want to aid the community or other people, for that matter.

Share Of Volunteering Participation In England By Age

(Reference: statista.com)

  • During the year 2021/22, it was found that 61% of persons in England within the age range of 65 to 74 years participated in some form of volunteer work at least once.
  • On the contrary, only 52% of people aged 75 years and above volunteered for work.
  • Thus, it can be observed that individuals in the 65 to 74 age bracket were more likely to participate in volunteerism as compared to those above 75 years, although there was still a considerable %age of both age groups that volunteered.

Share Of Volunteered People By Average Household Income Per Capita

Share Of Persons Volunteering Through An Organization In Israel In 2022, By Average Household Income Per Capita(Reference: statista.com)

  • From the years 2015 to 2017, approximately 52.7% of the people in Indonesia admitted to having volunteered for an organization at least once during the previous month.
  • This figure is far more than the average value for the Asia Pacific region, revealing that only 24.02% of the population undertook some form of voluntary engagement during the same period.
  • The above Volunteering statistics indicate that it can be inferred that Indonesians were more avid volunteers than citizens of other Asia Pacific countries.

Volunteering Participation In Human-Kind Work

1395 Volunteers Contributed $11.3M In In-kind Human Rights Work In 2022(Reference: enterpriseappstoday.com)

  • Volunteering statistics show that Every year, approximately 64 million citizens of the United States perform volunteer work, which is estimated to have an economic contribution of $139 billion.
  • Voluntary work is generally done for 50 hours in a year by volunteers on average.
  • In America, the earning potential of a volunteer is pegged at $29.95 per hour.
  • About 66% of the volunteers have been able to find jobs through the internet.
  • Based on 2023 statistics, female volunteers are predominant, accounting for 64%, while male volunteers account for only 36%.
  • The average age of a volunteer is approximately 42 years.
  • Out of the young volunteers, about 55% fall in the age group of 12-19 years.
  • Of these young people, 18% enroll in school-based volunteer programs and 12% in other organizations.
  • A study conducted in the year 2023 by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that two out of every three American citizens who are volunteers have provided help to their neighbors.

Volunteering Corporate Statistics

  • The current number of active nonprofits in the US stands at more than 1.8 million, and this figure has been on an upward trend for the past few years until the advent of the pandemic.
  • The subsequent stagnation in the growth rate can forecast a possible decrease in the number of nonprofits in the years to come.
  • It is projected that 7% of nonprofits will no longer exist due to the effects brought to them by Covid-19.
  • Volunteers also contribute to various organizations, and their economic impact is tremendous, being roughly $193 billion per year.
  • This encompasses the number of hours volunteered and the wide spectrum of persons volunteering for charitable purposes.
  • Out of all the factors considered in job selection, 61% of respondents of the millennial cohort found it important that the organization gives back to the community.
  • Many young adults, even those who do not volunteer, still tend to opt for employers who actively participate and contribute to the betterment of society, which demonstrates a high appeal of helping businesses to contribute positively to society.
  • Out of those who volunteer, 72% are affiliated with a single organization, and only 18.3% belong to two organizations, which means that most people restrict their volunteering activities to one organization.

Volunteering Satisfaction Statistics

  • In the year 2023, sponsorship for the volunteers showed a negative trend in comparison to previous years.
  • About half of the volunteers claimed that their volunteering activity was extremely enjoyable.
  • This included 42 % who seemed to be quite satisfied, 7 % who appeared to be somewhat unsatisfied, and 1 % who were utterly discontented, with a satisfaction rate of 92 % overall.
  • Differences in satisfaction ratings were also noticed with age groups.
  • Among younger volunteers aged between 18 – 24 years, 30 % were ‘very satisfied’, while 66% of the volunteers aged 55 years and above were equally satisfied.
  • In 2023, approximately 94% of civil society organization volunteers and 87% of public sector volunteers satisfied were less.
  • However, 94% of able-bodied persons and 88% of disabled persons were volunteers and satisfied with their volunteering experience.

Types Of Volunteer Work

  • Development and Management: A good number, 40% of volunteers take part in fundraising activities while another 30% concentrate on administrative activities of the non-profit organizations.
  • Community-Based Services: About 25% of the volunteers dedicate their services to social services, which include working in different types of shelters, food provision units, community support programs, and other charity works.
  • Education and Child Service: 20% of the volunteers are engaged in schools, coaching activities, or agencies that focus on the welfare of the children.

Economic Impact Of Volunteering

  • The culture of volunteering in the USA has not only remained but even advanced. 30% of American nationals, it has been stated; are actively participating in volunteer activities by the year 2024.
  • This number is about the same in Canada, where more or less 28% of the people are also involved in volunteer services.
  • In Europe, the volunteering percentage is about 22%, with the highest percentage of participation being in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
  • The volunteering statistics, however, turn out to be different in most Asian countries.
  • To illustrate, in India, around 15% of the people engage in volunteer work, and this owes to community-based programs.
  • There also is the strong participation of the community in Africa as the culture encourages it with approximately 18% of the population involved in volunteering activities to support the communities mostly in the health and education sectors.

Conclusion

Engaging in volunteering statistics in 2024 will help to enhance the state of the economic worth of society. Because countless individuals spend their hours and abilities to assist certain causes, it is evident that such undertakings are priceless and extensive. Be it through business initiatives, social activities, or individual selfless actions, the significance of volunteering wishes to promote bonding and togetherness cannot be overstated.

FAQ.

What impact does volunteering have on the economy of the United States?

The value of volunteer hours in the country in the year 2024 is expected to reach $203.4 billion, with the value of one hour of a volunteer’s time estimated to be roughly $29.95, which indicates how far-reaching and impactful the contribution of volunteers to the economy is.

Which population groups are most willing to engage themselves in any form of voluntary services?

In 2024, the age group that is most likely involved in any kind of voluntary work is between the ages of 35 and 44 years, whereby the uptake is 32%. In terms of gender, 58% of volunteers are women, while approximately 80% of the volunteers have some level of college education.

How do individuals engaged in voluntary service view the outcome of such work?

Surveys show that 77% of volunteers claim that engaging in these activities continuously helps their mental health, while 92% agree that volunteering improves their leadership capabilities. Rest assured, 64% of those who volunteer claim that they have better-working relationships with their peers due to their work in these activities.

What is the most popular form of volunteer work?

Most people participate in volunteer work that involves activities like raising funds (40%), carrying out office duties for NGOs (30%), and providing direct community services, such as helping in shelters and distributing food (25%). Also, volunteer work in educational and children’s services constitutes 20% of the total.

How many people, in your opinion, are likely to do some kind of volunteer work on any day in the World in the Year 2024?

In the year 2024, nearly 970 million people all over the world engage in any form of volunteer work, which is nearly 12.5% of the world’s total population.

Maitrayee Dey
Maitrayee Dey

Maitrayee, after completing her graduation in Electrical Engineering, transitioned into the world of writing following a series of technical roles. She specializes in technology and Artificial Intelligence, bringing her experience as an Academic Research Analyst and Freelance Writer, with a focus on education and healthcare under the Australian system. From an early age, writing and painting have been her passions, leading her to pursue a full-time career in writing. In addition to her professional endeavors, Maitrayee also manages a YouTube channel dedicated to cooking.

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