Comprehensive study on volunteering in the European Union released
At the end of 2008 the European Commission launched a study on Volunteering in the European Union (EU). The final report released recently provides research and insights into the current situation of volunteering in the European Union.
It includes a comparative analysis of volunteering in 27 Member States with 27 national reports, a sector study on volunteering in sport and 27 national fiches on volunteering in sport.
Some of the main findings are:
- There has been a general upward trend in the number of volunteers active in the EU over the last ten years. Reasons for this trend include increased awareness of social and environmental concerns; recent public initiatives to promote volunteering; increasing numbers of voluntary organisations which in turn means that volunteers are being spread across an ever larger number of organisations; growing numbers of volunteers needed to support the delivery of public services; increasing number of individuals involved in project based or short-term volunteering as opposed to long-term volunteering; increased involvement of older people and the change in public perceptions, particularly in the New Member States.
- There are around 23% of Europeans aged over 15 years are engaged in voluntary work. However, there are clear differences in the level of volunteering between Member States. Whilst certain EU Member States have a longstanding tradition for volunteering and well developed voluntary sectors, in others the voluntary sector is still emerging or poorly developed.
- Volunteering in sport represents a significant share of the adult population in Finland (16%), Ireland(15%), the Netherlands (12-14%), Denmark (11%), Germany (10.9%) and Malta (9.2%). Conversely, in Estonia (1.1%), Greece (0.5%), Lithuania (0.1%), Latvia and Romania (less than 0.1%) volunteering in sport does not appear to be a common practice.
- In many countries a gender dimension is more apparent in specific sectors (e.g. sport, health, social and rescue services) and voluntary roles (e.g. managerial and operational roles) rather than in overall participation rates in volunteering. However, in general, most countries tend to have either a greater number of male volunteers than female (11 countries) or an equal participation between men and women.
- The highest levels of volunteering are among adults aged 30 to 50 years. However, young people make up the largest share of volunteers in many Eastern European countries and Spain.
- There is a clear, positive correlation between education levels and the tendency to volunteer.
- In the majority of EU countries employed individuals are the most active volunteers.
- The highest level of voluntary activity across Member States is undertaken in football. In addition to sport, the most commonly reported sectors in which volunteers are active include: Social, welfare and health activities; Religious organisations; Culture; Recreation and leisure; and Education, training and research.
The full report in English can be found on the European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship/news/news1015_en.htm