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17th September 2026

Scottish Household Survey (SHS) 2025 Results: Volunteer participation is up, but inclusion gaps remain

Volunteer Scotland welcomes evidence that overall volunteer participation in Scotland is continuing to recover, but notes that there are concerning trends for the sector to tackle. The latest Scottish Household Survey results for 2025 show an increase in overall volunteer participation, with 27% of adults in Scotland volunteering with a group, club or organisation in the last year – this is an estimated 1.25 million formal volunteers! 

This is an increase from 25% in 2024 and means that the number of volunteers in Scotland increased by 267,000 between 2024 and 2025. This is particularly encouraging given that volunteer participation had dropped to a record low of 18% following the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis and suggests that the recovery for Scotland’s voluntary sector is gathering momentum. In fact, formal volunteer participation is now higher than it was immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The results reveal that informal volunteering, which is volunteering that happens outside of a group, club or organisation, has also increased for the first time since 2018. This means that, together with formal volunteering, over half (52%) of Scottish adults have volunteered in some capacity at least once in the last year.  

While this overall increase in volunteer numbers is a worthy cause for celebration, the Scottish Household Survey data reveals that the inclusion gaps that emerged last year are persistent. Adults in Scotland’s least deprived communities now volunteer at double the rate of those in the most deprived communities, with a participation gap of 17 percentage points. There remains a worrying participation gap between disabled and non-disabled adults despite some improvements, with a gap of 8 percentage points (down from 10 percentage points in 2024), which remains significantly higher than it was pre-pandemic (5 percentage points). A 12 percentage point gap now exists between the lowest and highest income groups. 

In our State of Scottish Volunteering in 2025 report,  we shared Carnegie UK’s research that being disabled and living in a deprived neighbourhood are the two factors most strongly associated with low wellbeing in Scotland. We know that volunteering delivers the greatest wellbeing gains for those who are most disadvantaged, yet data from the two most recent Scottish Household Surveys show that the gaps in volunteer participation mirror these broader societal inequalities. This means that the very people who stand the benefit the most from volunteering are currently benefiting the least. These results show us that inclusion and equity of access to formal volunteer opportunities as well as having a positive experience while volunteering remain as priority challenges for the sector to address.   

The 2025 Scottish Household Survey also confirms that the nature of formal volunteering in Scotland is changing. Ongoing data from the SCVO Third Sector Tracker has shown us that the sector continues to struggle with volunteer recruitment and retention despite an increasing number of third sector organisations reporting a greater number of volunteers. Today’s results help us understand why: volunteering is becoming less frequent and more low intensity. Together, these shifts show that volunteers are increasingly giving smaller, less regular amounts of time.  

Today’s results, therefore, contain both encouragement and challenge for the sector, and reinforces Volunteer Scotland’s commitment to supporting inclusive and flexible volunteering. 

This blog highlights key findings on formal volunteering in 2025 from the data published on 17th September 2026 and compares results to 2024 findings. We will publish a more detailed analysis, including on informal volunteering and an estimated economic value of volunteering, in the coming months. 

Insights from the 2025 SHS data

Key findings for formal volunteering:  

  • Formal volunteering participation has continued to recover in 2025, rising from 25% to 27%. This marks the second consecutive year of growth and brings participation slightly above the pre–pandemic rate of 26% recorded in 2019. Scotland now has an estimated additional 267,000 adults volunteering formally compared to last year. While this is a positive milestone, the long-term trend still shows a fall from the 31% peak in 2010.  
  • Volunteering is becoming less frequent and more low‑intensity. 
    • Regular volunteering (at least once a month) has fallen from 77% in 2022 to 70% in 2025, while occasional volunteering (less than once a month) has increased from 23% in 2022 to 30% in 2025. 
    • Low‑intensity volunteering (five hours or less per month) has increased from 56% in 2022 to 58% in 2025, while high‑intensity volunteering (16 hours or more per month) remains stable at 18%.  
  • Adults in Scotland’s least deprived communities (SIMD Q5: 34%) now volunteer at double the rate of those in the most deprived communities (SIMD Q1: 17%), widening the participation gap to 17 percentage points — the largest since 2019. 
  • The percentage of volunteers who fulfil committee member and Trustee roles fell from 27% to 23%, reflecting a well-reported challenge in trustee recruitment and retention across the sector.  

Formal volunteering demographics:  

  • Age – Adults aged 35–59 saw the strongest growth, increasing from 27% in 2024 to 30% in 2025, now the highest‑participating age group. Younger adults (16–34) increased slightly from 24% to 25%, continuing their gradual recovery. Adults aged 60 and over remained stable at 25%, unchanged from 2024. 
  • Gender – Male participation increased from 24% to 27%, closing the gap with females, whose participation remained stable at 27%. For the first time in several years, gender differences in participation have largely disappeared. 
  • Disability – Disabled adults saw a notable increase in participation, rising from 18% to 21%. However, non‑disabled adults also increased slightly (28% to 29%), meaning the participation gap remains substantial at eight percentage points. This continues the long‑term pattern of unequal access to volunteering. 
  • Ethnicity – Participation increased across most ethnic groups. The largest rise was among adults in the ‘White – Other’ category, increasing seven percentage points to 31%. ‘White – Other British’ adults also saw strong growth (34% to 38%). Participation among ethnic minority groups remained stable at 26%. 
  • Net annual household income – adults with household incomes over £30,000 saw an increase in participation from 29% in 2024 to 31% in 2025. Participation among lower‑income adults (earning up to £15,000) remained unchanged at 19%. This differential change has widened the participation gap between the lowest and highest income groups to 12 percentage points. 
  • Economic Status – Adults in employment continue to have the highest participation rate, increasing from 26% to 29%. Participation among retired adults remained stable at 25%, while adults with ‘other’ economic status increased slightly to 23%. 
  • Geography – Geographical differences have sharpened. Participation in remote rural areas increased significantly to 40%, and accessible rural areas rose to 35%. Remote small towns also saw strong growth (23% to 31%). In contrast, participation in large urban areas fell from 26% to 24%, widening the rural–urban gap. 

Formal volunteer activities: 

  • ‘Local community/neighbourhood’ remains the most common type of volunteering, increasing from 24% in 2024 to 26% in 2025. 
  • ‘Children’s education and schools’ saw the biggest rise, increasing from 14% to 18%. 
  • ‘Youth or children’s activities outside school’ decreased, falling from 21% to 19%. 
  • Volunteering in ‘Politics’ (3%), ‘Emergency services, first aid and public safety’ (3%), ‘Culture and heritage’ (7%), and ‘Adult guidance, advice and learning’ (5%) remained static between 2024 and 2025. 
  • Most other sectors increased, including environmental protection (6% to 7%), physical activity, sport and exercise (17% to 19%), animal welfare (4% to 5%), groups supporting older people (6% to 7%), and health, disability and wellbeing (13% to 14%). 

Types of formal volunteering roles 

  • ‘Generally helping out as required’ remains the most common volunteer role, increasing slightly from 54% to 55%. 
  • Fundraising (18% to 20%), transporting people or things (9% to 11%), and campaigning (4% to 6%) saw the largest increases. Visiting, buddying or befriending also increased, rising from 8% to 10%. Providing education, training or coaching increased from 22% to 23%, and providing advice, support or advocacy increased from 12% to 13%. 
  • Office or administrative work decreased from 19% to 15%, and smaller decreases were seen in promotion and marketing (9% to 8%) and counselling (5% to 4%). 

Inclusive volunteering remains a priority

These headline findings emphasise the importance of the Scottish voluntary sector’s ongoing efforts to promote inclusive volunteering. Through the Volunteering Action Plan, we aim to create a Scotland where everyone can volunteer, more often, and throughout their lives. 

Last year, Volunteer Scotland hosted nine roundtable events on ‘Bridging the Participation Gap’, engaging 180 stakeholders, including volunteers, the practice community (such as volunteer-involving organisations and volunteer managers), and enablers such as policymakers and funders. The themes from the Bridging the Participation Gap roundtable series have shaped Volunteer Scotland’s ongoing work to support inclusive volunteering. 

Responding to the themes, our work includes three priority projects: 

  1. Navigating Hostility and Intolerance: Volunteer Scotland are working with SCVO to support volunteers and voluntary sector staff who are facing increasing hostility, intolerance and abuse in their work. We will be publishing practical guidance for the sector in the coming months.  Through this project, we aim to create safer, more inclusive volunteer environments. 
  2. Addressing trustee recruitment and retention challenges: We will be working with partners to support charities and voluntary organisations to attract, recruit and retain a diverse and skilled pool of trustees, resulting in stronger, more stable governance. 
  3. Inclusive Volunteer Pathways Project: This is a two-year development project that will test practical approaches to increasing equitable participation in volunteering across Scotland. Volunteer Scotland will work with a small number of community intermediary organisations and volunteer involving organisations to co-design, implement and evaluate more inclusive volunteering pathways.  

We will be exploring how volunteering can become more inclusive, safe and accessible to everyone at our sold-out Volunteering Action Plan Conference: Bridging the Participation Gap on Tuesday 17th November 2026. In the policy space, Volunteer Scotland are working to raise awareness of the health and wellbeing benefits of volunteering in the Scottish Government’s prevention agenda and Public Service Reform strategy, to help ensure equitable access.  

Volunteer Scotland are creating a new Volunteer Development Network, which will be a space for practitioners across Scotland to discuss how volunteering can become more inclusive, safe and accessible to all. To help shape the Network, share your views: Have Your Say: Scotland’s New Volunteer Development Network 

For practical advice, guidance and training on how to make your volunteering programme more inclusive, check out the Knowledge Gateway.

Debbie Maltman

Research Officer

Bethany Sikes

Research & Policy Manager