Contents
- Community volunteering hours statistics: national totals and averages
- Community volunteering hours statistics: formal and informal hours
- Community volunteering hours statistics: who contributes time
- Community volunteering hours statistics: community activities and organizations
- Community volunteering hours statistics: age and participation patterns
- Community volunteering hours statistics: time spent in a typical day
- Sources
Community volunteering hours statistics: national totals and averages
National totals offer one view of the time people give, while averages describe the contribution among people who volunteered. In Canada, people aged 15 and older in the 10 provinces contributed 4.1 billion hours of formal and informal volunteering in 2023. The comparable reported total for 2018 was 5.0 billion hours. The population scope excludes full-time institutional residents and residents of First Nations reserves. The figures describe aggregate hours, not an average for every resident. Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily — Volunteering and charitable giving in Canada, 2018 to 2023
Among Canadians who volunteered, the average was 173 hours in 2023. That annual average applies to volunteers, rather than to the entire population. The same release reports approximately 1.2 billion formal volunteer hours and nearly 3 billion informal hours in 2023. These are separate types of contribution within the broader national total; the release’s terms and approximations should be retained when comparing them. Source: Statistics Canada
Australia’s General Social Survey reports 618 million hours of voluntary work through organizations in the 12 months before the 2025 survey. The survey was collected from May 1 to June 28, 2025. The release compares that total with 490 million hours in the 12 months before the 2020 survey and 596 million hours before the 2019 survey. The 2025 total was described as an increase from 2020 and similar to 2019. These are survey reference periods, not calendar-year totals. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, 2025
| Geography and measure | Reported hours | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Canada, formal and informal volunteering | 5.0 billion | 2018 |
| Canada, formal and informal volunteering | 4.1 billion | 2023 |
| Australia, voluntary work through organizations | 490 million | 12 months before 2020 survey |
| Australia, voluntary work through organizations | 596 million | 12 months before 2019 survey |
| Australia, voluntary work through organizations | 618 million | 12 months before 2025 survey |
Sources: Statistics Canada; Australian Bureau of Statistics
Community volunteering hours statistics: formal and informal hours
Formal and informal volunteering are distinct measures in the Canadian release. Formal volunteering refers to activity for charitable or nonprofit organizations; informal volunteering includes other volunteer activity such as improving the community. In 2023, formal volunteering accounted for approximately 1.2 billion hours in Canada, down 28% from 2018. Informal volunteering accounted for nearly 3 billion hours, down 13% from 2018. These reported changes concern the total hours in each category over the 2018–2023 comparison. Source: Statistics Canada
Scotland’s 2025 Household Survey reports hours bands for people who volunteered during the last month. Among formal volunteers, 31% reported between 1 and 5 hours. For informal volunteers, 43% reported between 1 and 5 hours. The denominator in each case is respondents who undertook that type of volunteering, and the time window is the last month. These percentages describe the most commonly reported band for formal volunteering and the reported band for informal volunteering; they are not annual averages or total hours. Source: Scottish Government, Volunteering — Scottish Household Survey Statistics, 2025, Tables 46 and 70
| Measure | Reported finding | Time scope |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian formal volunteer hours | Approximately 1.2 billion; down 28% from 2018 | 2023 total; comparison with 2018 |
| Canadian informal volunteer hours | Nearly 3 billion; down 13% from 2018 | 2023 total; comparison with 2018 |
| Scottish formal volunteers reporting 1–5 hours | 31% | Last month, 2025 survey |
| Scottish informal volunteers reporting 1–5 hours | 43% | Last month, 2025 survey |
Sources: Statistics Canada; Scottish Government
Community volunteering hours statistics: who contributes time
The Canadian comparisons show that changes in volunteer hours differed across population groups and measures. Women’s average annual volunteer hours decreased 21% between 2018 and 2023. For volunteers aged 25 to 34, the number of hours decreased 42% over the same period. The first figure is an average annual measure among women who volunteered; the second concerns the number of hours for the specified age group. They should not be read as equivalent statistics. Source: Statistics Canada
Education comparisons in the Canadian release refer to average formal volunteer hours among volunteers in each education group. From 2018 to 2023, the average declined 20% for volunteers with a university degree and 18% for volunteers with a high school diploma. These figures concern formal volunteering, rather than combined formal and informal hours. Source: Statistics Canada
The reported group comparisons do not by themselves explain why hours changed. They also use different measures: an average among volunteers for some groups and a total number of hours for another. Keeping those distinctions visible makes it possible to describe the reported pattern without turning it into a claim about individual behavior or cause.
Community volunteering hours statistics: community activities and organizations
Canadian organization-sector figures show reductions in formal volunteer hours across several areas between 2018 and 2023. Hours in hospital-related sectors declined 47%. For sports and recreation associations, the decline was 34%; for education and research organizations, 30%; and for religious organizations, 23%. Each is a change in total volunteer hours associated with that sector, not a count of organizations or volunteers. Source: Statistics Canada
Informal hours spent on community improvement also declined. The number of hours dedicated to improving the community was down 34% between 2018 and 2023. Within the activities described in the release, hours spent actively participating in public meetings where community affairs were discussed declined 40%, while hours spent coordinating a group or event declined 34%. These activity measures are part of informal community improvement and should not be merged with the organization-sector figures above. Source: Statistics Canada
| Canadian activity or organization category | Change in volunteer hours, 2018–2023 |
|---|---|
| Hospital-related sectors | −47% |
| Sports and recreation associations | −34% |
| Education and research organizations | −30% |
| Religious organizations | −23% |
| Improving the community | −34% |
| Public meetings about community affairs | −40% |
| Coordinating a group or event | −34% |
Community volunteering hours statistics: age and participation patterns
U.S. time-use estimates provide a daily snapshot of people participating in specific volunteer activities in 2022. On an average day, 4,712,000 people took part in administrative and support activities, spending an average of 1.56 hours in that activity. Social service and care activities involved 3,187,000 people on an average day, with an average of 2.23 hours. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, More than 11 million people volunteered on an average day in 2022
Other activity estimates include 2,038,000 people attending volunteer meetings, conferences, or training on an average day, at 2.15 average hours. Performance and cultural activities involved 721,000 people, averaging 2.40 hours. Indoor and outdoor maintenance, building, and cleanup activities involved 470,000 people, averaging 2.07 hours. Each count is an average-day participant estimate, and each duration is average hours for participants in that activity per day. They are not annual totals. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
| U.S. volunteer activity, 2022 | People on an average day | Average hours |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative and support activities | 4,712,000 | 1.56 |
| Social service and care activities | 3,187,000 | 2.23 |
| Meetings, conferences, and training | 2,038,000 | 2.15 |
| Performance and cultural activities | 721,000 | 2.40 |
| Maintenance, building, and cleanup | 470,000 | 2.07 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Community volunteering hours statistics: time spent in a typical day
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that more than 11 million people volunteered in some manner on an average day in 2022. Of those, approximately 7 million were women and 4 million were men. Among people aged 15 and older, 5.1% of women and 3.2% of men volunteered on an average day. The counts are approximate totals, while the percentages are average-day rates for the specified sex and age scope. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
For people aged 65 and older, the average-day rates were 7.8% for women and 6.4% for men. The BLS describes these as the highest rates among the age groups reported. This is a participation measure: it does not indicate how many hours each person volunteered or the total hours for the group. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Across the decade comparison, the U.S. average-day volunteer rate was 5.8% in 2012 and 4.2% in 2022. The BLS also reports a more recent change for women: their average-day rate rose from 4.1% in 2021 to 5.1% in 2022. These reference points describe different comparisons, one spanning 2012–2022 and one comparing consecutive years for women. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Daily participation and annual hour totals answer different questions. The BLS measures whether people volunteered on an average day and, for activity participants, their average time per day. Canada and Australia report aggregate hours across longer periods, while Scotland’s figures describe respondents’ reported hours during the last month. Read with their population and time scopes intact, these measures show several ways surveys quantify community volunteering time without making the measures interchangeable.