Coverage: Northern Ireland Frequency: Annual Publication
Date: 7 November 2024
Main Stories
In 2023/24, just under a half (47%) of adults had volunteered within the
previous year.
Over a quarter (28%) of adults had volunteered formally with an
organisation within the previous year.
Over a third (37%) of adults had volunteered informally in their
communities. Informal volunteering involves giving unpaid help to
individuals who are not a relative, for example, babysitting, keeping in
touch with someone who has difficulty getting out and about, or helping
out with household tasks such as cleaning, laundry or shopping.
For those who volunteered formally, the most popular types of activities
included ‘Fundraising’, ‘Being a group leader, member of a committee or
a trustee’ and ‘Office or administrative work’.
The most popular types of activities for those who volunteered
informally included ‘Keeping in touch with someone who is at risk of
being lonely’, ‘Doing shopping, collecting pension, collecting benefits
or paying bills’ and ‘Providing transport or accompanying someone away
from home’.
Top factors that would encourage volunteering reported by adults who did
not volunteer were ‘If I was directly asked to volunteer’, ‘If a need
arose in my community’ and ‘If there was flexibility on when and how I
could get involved’.
Introduction
Among other policy areas, the Department for Communities (DfC) is the
lead department for volunteering. DfC is responsible for the development
of voluntary and community sector strategies and policies and both funds
and works in partnership with the sector.
This report presents the findings from the 2023/24 Continuous
Household Survey (CHS) in relation to experience of volunteering in
Northern Ireland. These findings are used to inform the development,
monitoring and evaluation of policy. More information relating to the
CHS, methodology, definitions and the interpretation of the figures can
be found in the Definitions &
technical notes section. Data tables are available in
Excel
and
ODS
format. The questions that were asked in the CHS 2023/24 are available
here.
Note: Data collection for the 2023/24 CHS was carried out using a
mix of telephone and face-to-face interviewing modes, a similar approach
to that used in 2022/23. For 2020/21 and 2021/22 data collection was by
telephone interviewing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and
there was also a reduction in the number of questions between
2020/21-2022/23. Questions relating to volunteering were not asked in
2020/21 and in 2021/22 and 2022/23 a single question was asked. While
comparisons can be made between 2021/22 and 2022/23, it is important to
note that volunteering in 2021/22 would have been impacted by closures
due to COVID-19. More information is available on the
NISRA
website.
In 2023/24 questions relating to volunteering were reviewed to improve
collection of data relating to informal volunteering. As a result of
changes to methodology and content, figures for 2023/24 are not directly
comparable to previous years.
Lead statistician: Clair Stewart
Engagement in volunteering
Almost half (47%) of the adult population had volunteered in 2023/24.
This overall figure includes both formal volunteering with organisations
and informal volunteering in the community.
Similar proportions of females (48%) and males (46%) volunteered in
2023/24.
A lower proportion of those aged 16-34 years (42%) volunteered compared
with those aged 35 years and over (50%).
Adults from the Protestant community were more likely to volunteer (54%)
than both those from the Catholic community (42%) and those of
‘Other/No’ religion (43%). Also, adults without a disability were more
likely to have volunteered compared to those with a disability (49% and
43% respectively).
Analysis by area shows that adults living in the least deprived areas
were more likely to have volunteered than those living in the most
deprived areas (56% and 39% respectively) whilst the proportions of
adults volunteering in urban and rural areas were similar (47% and 48%
respectively). There was a difference in those who volunteered between
adults with dependants and those without dependants (53% and 44%
respectively). Furthermore, those who were married/cohabiting (52%) were
more likely to have volunteered than those of other marital status
groups.
Local Government District
In 2023/24, over half of adults living in the following areas had
volunteered in the previous year; Fermanagh and Omagh (56%), Ards and
North Down (56%), Lisburn and Castlereagh (55%) and Mid and East Antrim
(52%). In contrast, Mid Ulster had the lowest proportion of adults
volunteering in the previous year (34%).
Formal volunteering
In 2023/24, 28% of adults had volunteered formally with an organisation
within the previous year. As with volunteering overall, similar
proportions of men and women volunteered formally (28% and 27%
respectively).
A higher proportion of those aged 35-44 years (32%), 45-54 years (32%)
and 65 years and over (29%) volunteered formally compared with those
aged 16-24 (22%) and 25-34 years (22%).
Adults from the Protestant community were more likely to volunteer
formally (32%) than both those from the Catholic community (23%) and
those of ‘Other/No’ religion (25%). Also, adults without a disability
were more likely to have volunteered with an organisation compared to
those with a disability (30% and 23% respectively).
Analysis by area shows that adults living in the least deprived areas
(33%) and rural areas (31%) were more likely to have volunteered with an
organisation than those living in the most deprived and urban areas (18%
and 25% respectively). There was also a difference in those who
volunteered formally between adults with dependants and those without
dependants (31% and 25% respectively). In addition, those who were
married (32%) were more likely to have volunteered formally compared to
those of other marital status groups.
Types of formal volunteering organisations
The most popular organisations that adults volunteered with in the
previous year were: ‘Church/Faith Based’ (10%), ‘Sports’ (7%), ‘Local
community, neighbourhood or citizens groups’ (4%), ‘Youth/Childrens
activities (outside school)’ (4%) and ‘Children’s education / Schools’
(4%).
There were differences in the types of organisation men and women
volunteered with in the previous year. A higher proportion of women
volunteered with a ‘Church/faith based’ organisation, organisations that
involved ‘Children’s education/schools’, ‘Older people’, ‘People with a
disability’ and ‘Culture/arts/crafts’ than men. In contrast, a higher
proportion of men indicated that they had volunteered at sports
organisations than women.
Types of formal volunteering activities
The most popular activities undertaken by adults volunteering in an
organisation in the previous year were: ‘Fundraising’ (35%), ‘Being a
group leader, member of a committee or a trustee’ (32%) and ‘Office or
administrative work’ (24%).
There were differences in the types of activities men and women
volunteered formally with in the previous year. A higher proportion of
women were involved with ‘Collecting/making things to be provided or
sold for charity’ and ‘Working in a charity shop’ than men whilst a
higher proportion of men provided ‘Education, training or coaching to
develop people’s skills’ than women.
Informal volunteering
In 2023/24, 37% of adults had volunteered informally in their
communities. Informal volunteering involves giving unpaid help to
individuals who are not a relative, for example, babysitting, keeping in
touch with someone who has difficulty getting out and about, or helping
out with household tasks such as cleaning, laundry or shopping. In
contrast with formal volunteering, women were more likely to have
volunteered informally than men (39% and 35% respectively).
A lower proportion of those aged 16-24 years (31%) and 25-34 years (34%)
volunteered informally compared with those aged 45-54 (42%), 55-64 (40%)
and 65 years and over (39%).
Following a similar trend to formal volunteering, adults from the
Protestant community were more likely to volunteered informally (41%)
than both those from the Catholic community (34%) and those of
‘Other/No’ religion (33%). Also, adults without a disability were more
likely to have volunteered informally compared to those with a
disability (38% and 35% respectively).
Analysis by area shows that adults living in the least deprived areas
(42%) were more likely to have volunteered informally than those living
in the most deprived areas (33%). There was also a difference in those
who volunteered informally between adults with dependants and those
without dependants (41% and 34% respectively). Furthermore, those who
were married (40%) were more likely to have volunteered compared to
those who were single (33%) or widowed (32%).
Types of informal volunteering activities
The most popular activities undertaken by adults volunteering informally
in the previous year were: ‘Keeping in touch with someone who is at risk
of being lonely’ (40%), ‘Doing shopping, collecting pension, collecting
benefits or paying bills’ (28%) and ‘Providing transport or accompanying
someone away from home’ (25%).
There were differences in the types of activities men and women
volunteered informally with in the previous year. A higher proportion of
women were involved with ‘Keeping in touch with someone who is at risk
of being lonely’, ‘Doing shopping, collecting pension, collecting
benefits or paying bills’, ‘Babysitting or looking after children’ and
‘Helping with personal care’ than men. In contrast a higher proportion
of men were involved with ‘Car or home maintenance or repairs’ and
‘Helping someone else to improve a skill’ than women.
Frequency of volunteering
Of those who volunteered both formally and informally, around a third of
adults volunteered several times a week or about once a week within the
previous year (31% and 33% respectively). Just over a fifth of all
adults who had volunteered both formally and informally had done so less
than once a week but at least once a month (22%).
Time spent of volunteering
Of those who volunteered both formally and informally, over a half had
volunteered less than eight hours in the previous four weeks (55%)
whilst a quarter had volunteered between eight and 16 hours (25%). One
in twenty adults who had volunteered both formally and informally had
volunteered forty-five hours or more in the previous four weeks (5%).
Benefits of volunteering
Over seven out of every ten adults who had volunteered both formally and
informally in the previous year cited ‘Makes me feel better about
myself’ (73%) and ‘Helps me make a positive contribution to society’
(72%) as benefits of volunteering, whilst over two out of every five
adults stated that volunteering had improved their mental health (44%),
allowed them to make new friends (44%) and have fun (43%). Only 1% of
adults felt that they had received no benefit from volunteering.
Considering benefits of volunteering by gender, men were more likely
than women to have stated ‘Helped me gain a qualification’ and ‘Helped
me get a job’ as benefits of volunteering.
Volunteered in the past
Of those who had not volunteered within the previous year, a fifth said
that they had volunteered some time in the past (21%). Similar
proportions of men and women had volunteered in the past (21% and 20%
respectively).
Analysis by area shows that adults living in the least deprived (23%)
and urban areas (22%) were more likely to have volunteered in the past
than those living in the most deprived (14%) and rural areas (18%).
Those who were widowed (27%) were more likely to have volunteered in the
past compared to those those who were married (21%) or single (18%).
Encourage volunteering
Of those who did not volunteer, the three most popular factors cited
that would encourage volunteering were if they were asked directly
(25%), if a need arose in their community (20%) and if there was
flexibility on when and how they could get involved (10%). More than
two-fifths of adults who did not volunteer said nothing would encourage
them to volunteer (45%).
Considering factors that would encourage volunteering by gender, men
were more likely than women to have stated ‘If the group offered
training and accreditation’ and ‘If I knew my social security benefits
would be unaffected’ as factors, whilst women were more likely to have
stated ‘If childcare facilities were provided’.
Definitions & technical notes
Continuous Household Survey
The Continuous Household Survey is a Northern Ireland wide household
survey administered by Central Survey Unit, Northern Ireland Statistics
and Research Agency. The sample for this survey consists of a systematic
random sample of 8,940 addresses selected from the Land and Property
Service’s list of private addresses. The findings reported for 2023/24
are based on 4,927 respondents, aged 16 and over.
Data collection for the 2023/24 CHS was carried out using a mix of
telephone and face-to-face interviewing modes, a similar approach to
that used in 2022/23. For 2020/21 and 2021/22 data collection was by
telephone interviewing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and
there was also a reduction in the number of questions between
2020/21-2022/23. Questions relating to volunteering were not asked in
2020/21 and in 2021/22 and 2022/23 a single question was asked. While
comparisons can be made between 2021/22 and 2022/23, it is important to
note that volunteering in 2021/22 would have been impacted by closures
due to COVID-19. More information is available on the
NISRA
website
In 2023/24 questions relating to volunteering were reviewed to improve
collection of data relating to informal volunteering. As a result of
changes to methodology and content, figures for 2023/24 are not directly
comparable to previous years.
Weighting the Continuous Household Survey
Analysis of the volunteering module of the CHS has been weighted for
non-response. A chi square goodness-of-fit test showed that the CHS
sample (4,927) was not representative of the population by age and sex
when compared with the 2022 Mid Year Estimates for Northern Ireland
(NISRA
31 August 2023). As a result, separate weights were produced for
age, sex and age and sex combined.
Non-response weighting sometimes increases standard errors, although the
impact tends to be fairly small, i.e. the adjustment may be less or
greater than 1, but will generally be reasonably close to 1. In the case
of the culture, arts and sport modules of the CHS, the values of the
adjustment for all three weighting systems are so close to one, it is
not necessary to take account of this in the calculation of standard
error and confidence intervals.
While weighting for non-response (also called post-stratification)
should reduce bias, it must be acknowledged that it will not eliminate
bias. The reasons individuals choose to take part in surveys are complex
and depend on lots of factors specific to the individual. As a result,
the non-response biases in surveys are likely to be complex.
Post-stratification works on the assumption that, by aligning the survey
to the population along a small number of dimensions such as age and
gender, many of these complex biases will reduce. However, it would be
misleading to suggest that they will be eliminated.
Statistical significance in this report
Any statements in this report regarding differences between groups are
statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. This means that
we can be 95% confident that the differences between groups are actual
differences and have not just arisen by chance. The base numbers and
sizes of percentages have an effect on statistical significance.
Therefore on occasion, a difference between two groups may be
statistically significant while the same difference in percentage points
between two other groups may not be statistically significant. The
reason for this is because the larger the base numbers or the closer the
percentages are to 0 or 100, the smaller the standard errors. This leads
to increased precision of the estimates which increases the likelihood
that the difference between the proportions is actually significant and
has not just arisen by chance.
Official Statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics
Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and
value in the
Code of
Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics
should adhere to. Contact us directly with any comments about how we
meet these standards -
email:analyticsdivision@communities-ni.gov.uk.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing
regulation@statistics.gov.uk
or via the OSR
website.
Other notes
The following should be noted when interpreting figures and tables:
Percentages less than 0.5% are denoted by ‘0’ and where there are no
responses, they are denoted by ‘-’.
Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Percentages may not add to 100% for questions where multiple responses
are allowed.
Detailed tabulations are not provided where the number of respondents is
too small to allow meaningful analysis.
The base number of responses to each question, which is shown in each
table, is the unweighted count. The base may vary due to some
respondents not answering certain questions.
Volunteering - Volunteering is defined as ‘the commitment of time
and energy, for the benefit of society and the community, the
environment, or individuals outside (or in addition to) one’s immediate
family. It is unpaid and undertaken freely and by choice.’
Includes formal volunteering with an organisation or informal
volunteering in the community
Formal volunteering - Thinking about the definition just
given, in the last 12 months have you carried out any voluntary work or
activity with any of the following types of groups, clubs or
organisations?
Church/Faith Based
Sports
Children’s education/Schools
Youth/Children’s activities (outside school)
Older people
People with a disability
Health and social care
Conservation, the Environment and Heritage
Culture/Arts/Crafts
Housing and Homelessness
Local community, neighbourhood or citizen’s groups
Animal care
Safety/First-Aid
Other
No voluntary work in past 12 months
Informal volunteering - The next section asks about any unpaid
help you as an individual may have given to other people or to improve
your local environment, that is apart from any help given through a
group, club or organisation. Do not include help given to a relative. In
the last 12 months have you done any of these things unpaid?
Keeping in touch with someone who is at risk of being lonely (in person,
telephoning or e-mailing)
Doing shopping, collecting pension, collecting benefits or paying bills
Routine household chores e.g. cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening
Car or home maintenance or repairs
Babysitting or looking after children
Helping with personal care (e.g. washing, dressing)
Providing advice or support with letters or forms or speaking with
others on someone else’s behalf (e.g. speaking with a council department
or with a doctor).
Providing transport or accompanying someone away from home (e.g. on an
outing or to a hospital appointment)
Helping to improve your local environment e.g. litter picking but not as
part of an organised activity
