Who Gives Their Time? A Global Look at Volunteering

Have you ever wondered who actually volunteers their time to help others? Researchers asked over 200,000 people across 22 countries whether they had volunteered for an organization in the past month. What they found was striking: volunteering rates varied enormously depending on where you live.

People who regularly attend religious services are more than twice as likely to volunteer their time.

In Nigeria, about 51% of people said yes. In Indonesia, it was 46%, and in Kenya, 40%. But in Egypt, only 4% reported volunteering. Japan and Poland were also under 10%.

Overall, about 24% of people across all 22 countries said they had volunteered recently. The researchers also looked at who tends to volunteer. Some patterns were clear: people with more education tended to volunteer more, and people who attended religious services frequently were much more likely to volunteer than those who never attended. Self-employed people and students also volunteered at higher rates. But other factors (like age, marital status, and whether someone was born in their country) didn't make much difference overall.

That said, when the researchers zoomed into individual countries, the picture got more complicated. In some countries, younger people volunteered more. In others, older people did. In most countries, men volunteered slightly more than women, but in a few (like Australia, Sweden, and the US), women volunteered more. The study reminds us that volunteering isn't just about individual willingness. It's shaped by culture, history, government policies, and the opportunities available. In some places, people may help informally, caring for neighbors or relatives, without calling it 'volunteering.' So low formal volunteering rates don't necessarily mean people care less about their communities.