Summary

Over half of 2014’s 25 to 64-year-olds did at least some voluntary work in the last year. About 17% volunteered at least weekly. The more educated people were, the more likely they were to have done some volunteering, and the more likely they participated more often.

Very similar proportions of women and men – just over half – volunteered at least some time in the last year. But women were more likely to volunteer frequently.

For all levels of education, those in part-time paid work were the most likely to volunteer and to volunteer often. At the same time, people with higher qualifications were more likely to volunteer and to volunteer more often, whatever their labour force status.

At all education levels, Māori and Pacific Peoples were the ethnic groups most likely to volunteer, and most likely to volunteer frequently. Overall, Pākehā were less likely than Māori or Pacific Peoples to volunteer, and Asian people were the least likely to volunteer. Regardless of ethnicity, those with higher education volunteered more often.

The frequency of volunteering across OECD countries varied widely, with New Zealand having the highest rate of frequent volunteering by highly educated people. All OECD countries showed at least some positive association between education and volunteering at least weekly. However, the size of the association was very variable between countries. New Zealand had a moderate association with education, while Australia and the Netherlands also had high proportions of weekly volunteers but little difference by education.

The data on volunteering is from the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills which is part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). New Zealand participated in 2014 and is participating in the next cycle in 2022/23 with results due in 2024.