Nearly half of Dutch people did volunteer work in 2025, Statistics Netherlands finds

In 2025, almost 50 percent of people in the Netherlands said they had carried out volunteer work in the preceding year. That level is broadly similar to 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, but slightly below the figures recorded in 2024 and 2023. The findings come from Statistics Netherlands, based on a survey of nearly 8,000 people aged 15 and over.

Roughly 60 percent of volunteers are active either weekly or monthly, with most coming from the 65–75 age group. As in earlier years, sports clubs attract the largest share of volunteers, followed by hobby and social organisations, neighbourhood associations, and schools.

Most volunteers report being highly satisfied with the volunteer work they carried out over the past year, giving it an average rating of 7.7. When dissatisfaction does occur, it is most often linked to issues such as the people within the organisation or the nature of the tasks they are asked to perform.

Volunteering is far more common in rural areas, where 59 percent of residents are active, compared with 44 percent in highly urbanised areas. The difference is especially stark in neighbourhood associations: 18 percent of people in villages are involved in local community work, compared with just 8 percent in major cities.

While the 65–75 age group is the most active in volunteering (about 53 percent), young people aged 15 to 25 also participate relatively frequently. The lowest participation is seen among those aged 25 to 35.

Further analysis by organisations such as Vereniging VrijwilligerswerkNL indicates that this age group is also the most likely to stop volunteering, often due to major life changes such as starting a family or beginning a career.