Census of Population 2022 Spotlight Series: Volunteering in Ireland

Principal Economic Status

CSO statistical publication, 01 February 2024, 11am

Census 2022 Results

This publication is part of a series of results from Census 2022.

Volunteers by Principal Economic Status

Among people aged 15 years and over who were at work in 2022, 18% (423,612) were involved in at least one voluntary activity.

• The rate of volunteering among people who were retired was 17%.

• Those looking after the home or family had a volunteering rate of 15%, while 13% of students volunteered.

• In total, 9% of all workers volunteered in a sporting organisation and 6% in their community.

• Among those students who volunteered, 49% were involved in a sporting organisation and 26% were active in a social or charitable organisation.

• Female students were more likely to volunteer than male students.

• Among all retired persons, 6% volunteered in social or charitable organisations and another 6% volunteered in their community.

Volunteers and Labour Force Status

In 2022, 16% of people over the age of 15 (681,246) volunteered in at least one activity.

• Among those in the labour force, 18% (447,245) volunteered in at least one activity compared with 15% (234,001) of people who were not in the labour force.

• Some 19% of males and 17% of females in the labour force volunteered in at least one activity.

• Around one-quarter of people aged 45 to 54 years in the labour force volunteered in at least one activity.

• Among males in the labour force who volunteered, 57% were involved in a sporting organisation and 27% in the community.

• Among females in the labour force who volunteered, 37% were active in the community and 34% volunteered in social or charitable organisations.

• Most males outside the labour force who volunteered were involved in a sporting organisation (39%).

• Among females not in the labour force who volunteered, 36% assisted in a social or charitable organisation and 35% were active in the community.

Volunteers and Industrial Sectors

Looking at the industries people worked in, the largest group of volunteers in 2022 was in the Education sector (57,030 volunteers).

• Over a third of males (17,886) and nearly a quarter of females (39,144) working in this industry volunteered in at least one activity.

• One-fifth of people who worked in Human health and social work activities volunteered in at least one activity.

• People working in Accommodation and food services had the lowest rate of volunteering among the various industrial sectors at 11%.

• At 5%, the Agriculture, forestry and fishing sector had the highest proportion of workers volunteering with a political organisation (907 people out of the 17,487 who volunteered).

Volunteers and Commuting

People with longer commutes were more likely to volunteer. This reflects younger people tending to have shorter commutes than older people.

• One in five people with a commute of 90 minutes or more volunteered in at least one activity.

• In contrast, only 12% of people with a commute of less than 15 minutes volunteered in at least one activity.

Volunteers who Work from Home

Just under a quarter (182,072) of people who worked from home at least one day a week volunteered in at least one activity.

• In contrast, only 17% of people (223,402) who never worked from home volunteered in at least one activity.

• The proportion of people working from home who volunteered in at least one activity ranged from 20% for those working five days a week from home to 29% among those who worked one day per week at home.