Understanding who volunteers globally through an examination of demographic variation in volunteering across 22 countries

Volunteering has been associated with enhanced individual and societal well-being around the world. While some prior research has assessed cultural and sociodemographic differences in volunteering, we know little about how volunteering differs across sociodemographic indicators cross-nationally. Using data from the Global Flourishing Study, a diverse and international sample of 202,898 individuals across 22 countries, we examined the distribution of volunteering across demographic factors (age, gender, marital status, employment status, religious service attendance, education, and immigration status) and across countries. We found variation in volunteering across demographic groups and countries. Unadjusted proportions of volunteering varied between countries: Nigeria showed the highest proportion (0.51) followed by Indonesia (0.46) and Kenya (0.40), while Japan (0.09), Poland (0.08), and Egypt (0.04) showed the lowest proportions of volunteering. Random effects meta-analyses showed that the proportion of people who volunteered differed between demographic groups (e.g., volunteering was higher among those with more education and religious service attendance). Because of the growing evidence of substantial contributions of volunteering to individual as well as societal well-being, it is increasingly important for organizations, governments, and public health officials alike to consider ways to ensure accessibility for able and willing volunteers.