Volunteerism in the Netherlands highest among couples with children
In 2024, nearly half of all Dutch residents aged 15 and older participated in volunteer work, with the highest rates found among people living with a partner and children, and the lowest among residents of urban areas and those aged 25 to 35. This is according to new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), based on a national survey of 7,500 people.
The data shows that 49.5 percent of people aged 15 and older reported doing unpaid work in the past 12 months, a slight increase from 48.7 percent in 2023. Volunteer participation dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting a low point of 38.9 percent in 2021, but has since returned to pre-pandemic levels.
CBS notes that the proportion of volunteers had already begun to decline slightly after 2016. In 2012, 50.5 percent of people did volunteer work. That number fluctuated in the following years, falling to 46.7 percent by 2019 before the steep decline in 2020 and 2021.
Among age groups, 25- to 35-year-olds and people aged 75 and older were the least likely to volunteer, at 43 percent and 46 percent respectively. In contrast, people with a university (WO) or higher professional education (HBO) background volunteered at a much higher rate of 57 percent.
The group most likely to volunteer consisted of people who live with a partner and have children at home. Of them, 57 percent did volunteer work, and many were active in schools (22 percent) and sports clubs (23 percent). Single people with or without children volunteered less frequently, at 43 percent and 41 percent respectively.
In 2024, sports clubs were the most popular setting for volunteer work, attracting 16.2 percent of volunteers. Hobby clubs followed with 10.9 percent, and both neighborhood initiatives and schools saw nearly 10 percent involvement (10.0 and 9.8 percent respectively). Other popular categories included caregiving (9.0 percent), religious or philosophical organizations (8.3 percent), and youth work (7.0 percent). The youth work category saw a notable increase in participation, rising from 4 percent in 2023 to 7 percent in 2024. This brings it back to pre-pandemic levels.
Social assistance, including work with food banks, was reported by 3.7 percent of volunteers. While still low, this figure has almost doubled since 2021, when it was under 2 percent. Cultural associations (6.5 percent), environmental or nature organizations (5.1 percent), and religious or spiritual groups also saw moderate volunteer involvement.
The least popular categories for volunteers were refugee organizations (2.4 percent) and labor or political organizations (2.2 percent).
People living in less urbanized areas were significantly more likely to volunteer than those in densely populated cities. In non-urban areas, 59 percent reported volunteering in 2024, compared to just 44 percent in very highly urbanized areas.
The differences were particularly striking in neighborhood-related volunteer work. Only 8 percent of city dwellers reported volunteering in their neighborhood, compared to 18 percent in rural regions. At sports clubs, participation ranged from 12 percent in very urban areas to 20 percent in non-urban regions. These urban-rural differences were reportedly visible across nearly all types of organizations included in the CBS survey.
