Volunteering in Northern Ireland statistical publication released

The Department for Communities (DfC) today released the publication, ‘Volunteering in Northern Ireland 2017’.

Main findings:

• In 2016, just over a quarter (27%) of adults in Northern Ireland indicated that they had carried out voluntary work within the past year.  This is a decrease on the proportion of those who volunteered in 2015 (32%), however the rate is similar to those reported over the period 2012 to 2014.
• Of those who had volunteered in the previous year, 37% had helped in a church or religious organisation, 36% had carried out a fundraising activity and 26% of respondents indicated that they had worked with young people.
• The top three reasons for not volunteering were, ‘I don’t have the time (36%), ‘I have work commitments’ (32%) and ‘I have to look after children/the home’ (24%).

This publication is available online.  

Requests or enquiries concerning these statistics should be directed to:

Notes to editors: 

1. This publication presents the results of the Volunteering Module in the October - November 2016 Omnibus Survey, a Northern Ireland wide household survey administered by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Further information on the survey including sample design and response rates is included in the definitions and technical notes and metadata sections of the statistical release.
2. This report provides information on trends over time in volunteering including key findings relating to differences in participation rates among adults. The main themes explored in the report include levels of volunteering, support for volunteers and reasons for not undertaking volunteering roles.
3. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Communities Press Office on 028 9082 3516 or email press.office@communities-ni.gov.uk.  Out of hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07623 974383 and your call will be returned.

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