In Quarter 2 (Q2) 2025, of people who were aged 15-74:
Some 654,400, or 16.1% said they were involved in at least one voluntary activity.
The estimated total number of hours volunteered per month in Q2 2025 was more than 7.5 million hours or 11.5 hours per person a month.
The largest number of volunteers were involved in a sporting organisation, at almost 261,000 people, or 6.4%.
A higher proportion of employed people (16.5%) volunteered compared with those who were unemployed (14.7%) and not in the labour force (15.1%), based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria.
Working from home increased the likelihood of volunteering. About one in five who usually work from home (19.0%) and 20.8% of those who sometimes work from home said they volunteered, while 14.6% of those that never work from home did.
A higher proportion of people in relationships who have children under 15 (17.1%) volunteered compared with those without children (15.9%) or lone parents with children (14.7%).
There were a higher proportion of volunteers in rural areas compared with urban areas. Almost one in five (19.7%) of those from a rural area with moderate urban influence volunteered, while 13.7% from cities engaged in volunteering.
The region with the highest rate of volunteering was the West (Galway City and County, Mayo, and Roscommon) at 19.4%, while the lowest was the Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) region at 14.0%.
Questions were asked in the Q2 2025 LFS on participation in voluntary activities among 15-74-year-olds. It is possible to identify people’s participation in the following categories of voluntary activities.
Social or charitable organisations.
Religious or church groups.
Sporting organisations.
Political or community organisations.
More than 650,000 people, or 16.1%, said that they were involved in one or more voluntary activity in Q2 2025, volunteering for more than 7.5 million hours per month or 11.5 hours per person. More than 260,000 people volunteered in a sporting organisation, making it the most popular voluntary activity. They also volunteered the most time to sporting organisations with almost 3.3 million hours per month, or 12.6 hours per person. More than 180,000 people volunteered in political organisations or in the community while 125,900 volunteered in social or charitable organisations and 76,000 volunteered in religious or church groups. See Figure 1.
There were more females (331,100) volunteering than males (323,300) in Q2 2025. Females also volunteered more hours per month at almost 3.86 million hours, or 11.7 hours per person, compared to 3.67 million hours, or 11.3 hours per person, for males. Sports organisations were the most popular activity for both males and females. However, more females volunteered for all voluntary activities except sporting organisations where a higher proportion of males (7.1%) volunteered compared to 5.7% of females. Males were also more likely to volunteer more hours to sports organisations at 1.9 million hours per month, or 13.4 hours per person, compared to 1.4 million hours per month, or 11.5 hours per person. However, females volunteered more hours for all other voluntary activities. See Figure 2 & Table 1.
Older age cohorts were more likely to be involved in voluntary activities compared to younger age cohorts. There were 17.8% of 45-64-year-olds and 17.2% of 65-74 year olds who volunteered in Q2 2025 compared to 15.1% of 25-44 year olds and 13.9% of youths aged 15 to 24 years. The 65-74-year-olds also on average volunteered more hours. The 1,187,000 hours per month equates to 14.5 hours per person while youths volunteered 962,400 hours per month or 9.9 hours per person. See Table 2.
People in relationships who have children under 15 (17.1%) were the most likely to volunteer compared to those without children (15.9%) or lone parents with children (14.7%). Those with children were more likely to volunteer in sporting organisations as 7.8% of people in a relationship with children and 6.1% of lone parents with children compared to 5.4% of those without children. There were a higher proportion of those without children involved in social or charity organisations as well as political or community organisations. Those in a relationship with children volunteered 3.7 million hours per month, or 10.8 hours per person while those in a relationship without children volunteered 1.6 million hours or 12.7 hours per person. See Figure 3 & Table 3.
Using standard International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria, 16.5% of people in employment also volunteered compared to 14.7% of those classified as unemployed and 15.1% of those not in the labour force. Both one in six (16.5%) males and females in employment volunteered in some activity while a higher proportion of unemployed males (16.4%) volunteered compared to 12.6% females. Of those not in the labour market a higher proportion of females volunteered (15.6%) compared to males (14.5%). See Figure 4.
Of those who are in employment a slightly higher proportion of part-time employed (16.7%) volunteered compared to full-time employed (16.4%). Those in part-time employment volunteered almost 1.3 million hours per month, or 13.3 hours per person while those in full-time employment volunteered more than 4 million hours per month or 10.9 hours per person. Those classed as unemployed volunteered 286 thousand hours, or 13.6 hours per person while those not in the labour force volunteered almost 2 million hours or 11.5 hours per person per month. See Table 4.
Those that reported working from home were more likely to be involved in voluntary activity. About one in five of those who usually work from home (19.0%) or sometimes work from home (20.8%) said they volunteered compared to 14.6% of those who never work from home. Almost one in ten (9.5%) of those who sometimes work from home said they volunteered with a sporting organisation, compared to 7.2% of those who usually work from home and 6.2% of those who never work from home. Those who sometimes work from home were also more likely to volunteer with a political or community organisation while those that usually worked from home were more likely to volunteer in a social or charity as well as a religious or church group. See Figure 5.
Those that were self-employed (19.1%) were more likely to volunteer in one or more activity compared to employees (16.1%). The 65,600 self-employed who were involved in voluntary activities volunteered 797,700 hours per month or 12.1 hours per person. The 392,100 employees who engaged in a least one voluntary activity volunteered almost 4.4 million hours per month or 11.2 per person. Both self-employed (7.5%) and employees (6.9%) were more likely to volunteer in a sporting organisation over any other voluntary activity. See Table 5.
Those in the West were the most likely to be involved in a voluntary activity with almost one in five (19.4%) saying they volunteered in Q2 2025. This is followed by the Mid-East region (18.4%) and the Midlands (17.1%). The Border (14.0%) region had the lowest proportion of volunteers followed by Dublin (14.1%) and the Mid-West (15.3%). See Figure 6.
Most volunteers were in cities (190,100) followed by independent urban towns (137,100) and rural areas with a high urban influence (120,700). Similarly, they volunteered the most hours at 2.1 million, 1.7 million and 1.4 million hours respectively which the least hours volunteered were those in highly rural or remote areas volunteered at 0.6 million hours. However, more rural areas were more likely to volunteer with almost one in five (19.7%) of those in rural areas with moderate urban influence involved in voluntary activities while 13.7% of those in cities volunteered. See Figure 7 and Table 6.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 February 2026) published results on Volunteering in Ireland which was from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in Quarter 2 2025.
Commenting on today’s release, Colin Hanley, Statistician in the Labour Market & Earnings Division, said: “People aged 15 to 74 years were asked questions on volunteering in the Q2 Labour Force Survey. The results show overall, the estimated number of people aged 15-74 who volunteered in Q2 2025 was 654,400, or 16.1%. The largest number of volunteers were involved in a sporting organisation with 261,000 persons, or 6.4%. This was followed by political or community organisations (184,100 people) and social or charity organisations (125,900 people). There were more women (331,100) volunteering than men (323,300) overall. However, more men volunteered in sporting organisations while more women volunteered in all other voluntary activities.
Effect of Employment and Personal Circumstances on Volunteering
Based on International Labour Organisation's (ILO) criteria, those in employment in Q2 2025 were more likely to volunteer at 16.5% compared with those not in the labour force (15.1%) or those unemployed (14.7%). Among employed people, those who usually work from home (19.0%) or those who sometimes work from home (20.8%) were more likely to volunteer compared with those who never work from home (14.6%). Self-employed people (19.1%) were also more likely to volunteer than employees (16.1%).
People in relationships who have children under 15 (17.1%) represented a higher proportion of volunteers compared with those without children (15.9%) or lone parents with children (14.7%). Almost one in five (19.4%) people in the West volunteered which was the highest region in Ireland, while the Border region had the lowest proportion of volunteers at 14.0%. More rural areas had a higher proportion of volunteers than urban areas. Almost one in five (19.7%) of people from rural areas with moderate urban influence were involved in voluntary activities while 13.7% of those from cities volunteered.
Hours Volunteered
The estimated total number of hours volunteered in Q2 2025 was 7.5 million hours per month, which amounts to 11.5 hours per person a month. The most hours volunteered were in sporting organisations with almost 3.3 million hours per month, this was followed by political or community organisations at 1.8 million hours per month. Employed people volunteered 5.3 million hours per month while those not in the labour force volunteered almost 2 million hours of their time. Employees volunteered 4.4 million hours per month, while self-employed people volunteered 0.8 million hours per month."
Survey Participation
Commenting on the importance of sampled individuals taking part in the LFS, Colin Hanley added: “Sampled households receive introductory letters by post asking them to take part in the Labour Force Survey. A person from a participating household completes the interview either by telephone or by a CSO interviewer visiting the household.
Household surveys give us a picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland with a level of accuracy that no one else can gain. If you are asked to take part in a CSO survey, please do so. We count on you to take part in our surveys, and you can count on us to provide accurate statistics that reflect our society.”