Over half of New Zealanders (53.0%) volunteer – an increase of 2.3% since 2021 (50.7%) – and are volunteering an average of 18.1 hours over the previous four weeks (15.9 hours in 2021).

Volunteering New Zealand has obtained these previously unreleased figures from StatsNZ. They are from the 2023 General Social Survey (26 March 2025 Wellbeing Statistics Update).

For those that volunteered, 27.6% volunteered through an organisation (30.2% in 2021), and 40.8% volunteered directly for another person (36% in 2021).

Volunteering over the previous four weeks

 

Volunteering New Zealand Chief Executive Michelle Kitney said, “The increase in volunteer participation is great news. However, the figures show that people are choosing to give their time more directly to other people. Organisations may continue to face challenges with volunteer availability.”

The most common amount of time volunteering was less than five hours over the previous four weeks (32.5%). Those who contributed over 25 hours was 20.3%.

“Our own State of Volunteering research found the same trend. The idea of the ‘civic core’ – a few people doing the most volunteer work – is changing, and there is a swing towards episodic, more casual volunteering,” Michelle said.

Percentage of volunteers by number of hours contributed

The new statistics include volunteering measures by age, gender, ethnicity, income and housing tenure.

The age group with the highest rates of volunteering (59.3%) are those aged 45 to 64, while 54.1% of people aged 65 and above volunteer. Volunteers are most likely to be: aged between 45 and 64, female, European or Māori, have a personal income of $70,001 or more, and own their own home.

For more information see: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/wellbeing-statistics-2023/