This publication is part of a series of results from Census 2022.
In April 2022, more than 700,000 people, or around 14% of the population, regularly engaged in helping or voluntary work.
The largest number of volunteers were involved in a sporting organisation, at almost 290,000 people, or 6% of the population.
The next most common areas where people volunteered were in their community or in a social or charitable organisation.
Males were most likely to volunteer in a sporting organisation while females were more likely to volunteer in their community.
Leitrim had the highest rate of volunteers at 18% while Dublin City and South Dublin had the joint lowest at 11%.
The proportion of people engaged in helping or voluntary work increased with age. Over one-third (38%) of all volunteers were aged between 45 and 64 years.
Some 16% of volunteers, or more than 113,000 people, volunteered in more than one activity or organisation.
Among younger people, 3% of children under the age of 15 (over 30,000 people) volunteered in at least one activity.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (01 February 2024) released Census 2022 Spotlight Series: Volunteering in Ireland. This is the first in a new series of Census 2022 analyses which will be published under the title of Census 2022 Spotlight Series.
Commenting on the results, Sheelagh Bonham, Statistician in the Census Division, said:
“For the first time since 2006, Census 2022 included a question on volunteering. The question however has changed: the 2006 question on volunteering was restricted to people aged 15 years and over while in 2022 it was open to people of all ages. The number of volunteers aged 15 years and over grew by 23% between 2006 and 2022, matching the growth in that age group in the period. Sporting organisations had 50% more volunteers in 2022 than 2006, while religious or church groups had 13% fewer volunteers.
The most popular area where people volunteered in 2022 was a sporting organisation at 40%. This was followed by community activities and then volunteering in social or charitable organisations. People were least likely to volunteer in religious or church groups (18%) and political organisations (2%).
Volunteering is integral to a huge range of organisations and activities which people in every town, village, city, and county in Ireland participate in and rely on every day. This publication provides invaluable data and will help us to better understand volunteering in Ireland today.
Volunteering in Ireland
Results from Census 2022 show that of the more than 700,000 people who said they volunteered, almost 290,000, or 40%, did so in a sporting organisation, making it the most popular voluntary activity. Volunteering in the community and for a social or charity organisation were the next two most common voluntary activities in Census 2022. Fewer people volunteered for religious groups and political organisations, the latter being the least popular, with just 17,295 people in this group, or 2% of all volunteers.
Due to the changes in the volunteering question, comparability between 2006 and 2022 data can only be done for people aged 15 years and over and for certain volunteering activities. The total number of people aged over 15 years who volunteered increased by 23% from 553,255 in 2006 to 681,246 in 2022 reflecting the growth in the population aged 15 years and over in the same timeframe which also stood at 23%.
County populations volunteering with a sporting organisation ranged from 3% in Dublin City to 7% in Galway County. At 4%, Cavan had the highest proportion of any county's population volunteering in a religious organisation while volunteering for a social or charitable organisation was highest in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (5%).
The average age of people who volunteered tended to be higher than that of the general population, 47 years compared with 38.8 years, respectively. Looking at the specific volunteering categories captured on the 2022 census form, the average age ranged from 43 years for people engaged in voluntary activities in a sporting organisation to 53.4 years for those volunteering in a religious group. For the population aged 15 years and over engaged in voluntary activities, the average age increased from 45.1 years in 2006 to 48.6 years in 2022.
Family Status of Volunteers
More than one in five married people (21%) volunteered in at least one voluntary activity, with 23% of married males (208,476) and 19% of married females (178,342) volunteering in at least one activity. The proportion of single people who volunteered was 9%. Among single males, 4% (61,039) volunteered in a sporting organisation making it the most popular voluntary activity, followed by volunteering in the community at 2% (33,676 people). Volunteering for a social or charitable organisation was most popular with single females at 3% (43,198).
In more than one-fifth of families with children (195,884), at least one family member was involved in a voluntary activity while in 18% of families without children (72,099), at least one person volunteered in at least one activity. The most common type of voluntary activity among families with children was volunteering in a sporting organisation, with at least one person in 11% of families with children volunteering. Volunteering for a social or charitable organisation, in the community or with a sporting organisation were equally popular activities among family units without children, all recording a volunteering rate of 6%.
Principal Economic Status
In Census 2022, 16% of people aged 15 years and over were engaged in at least one voluntary activity. Of those in the labour force, 18% (447,245) volunteered in at least one activity compared with 15% (234,001) of people not in the labour force. Among people who were at work, 18% (423,612) were involved in at least one voluntary activity, with 9% of all workers volunteering in a sporting organisation and 6% in their community (130,419). The rate of volunteering among retired people in 2022 was 17%. More than 61,000 students volunteered, almost 30,000 of whom did so in a sporting organisation.
Looking at volunteering by industry, the largest group of volunteers was in Education with more than 57,000 people in this sector involved in a voluntary activity. People working in Accommodation & Food Services had the lowest rate of volunteering among the various industrial sectors at 11%.
Volunteering was relatively more common among people who worked from home at least one day a week at 24%, while only 17% of those who never worked from home were engaged in voluntary activities.
Diversity
In Census 2022, 15% of Irish citizens and 11% of non-Irish citizens volunteered. Among Irish citizens, males primarily volunteered in sporting organisations (almost 180,000 people) while the most popular voluntary activity among females was community work (almost 109,000 people). The rate of volunteering among citizens of African countries was 21%. The rate among US citizens was 20%, with 15% of UK citizens volunteering, the same as among Irish citizens.
Of all the ethnic groups/backgrounds captured in Census 2022, people who identified as Black or Black-Irish African had the highest rate of volunteering at 27%. Nearly two-thirds of people in this group were involved in a religious group. Almost 600,000 people who identified their ethnic group/background as White Irish volunteered in at least one activity in 2022. Volunteering in a sporting organisation was the most popular activity among White Irish volunteers.
Appreciation
The publication of Census 2022 results could not have been achieved without the overwhelmingly positive response from the public and we thank everyone who completed their census form on 03 April 2022. We would also like to thank everyone involved in the Census 2022 campaign culminating in today’s successful publication of these results.”
The CSO would like to acknowledge the significant contribution that Eoin Yeates made to developing this publication.
For more commentary and a county breakdown of the results of the Census 2022 Spotlight Series: Volunteering in Ireland, please see the Press Release.