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National and Local Area Profiles

Latest findings from the Scottish Household Survey (2018)

Find out how many of us volunteered in Scotland and within each Local Authority area in the last year. We also provide a breakdown of the number of hours of help given and the economic value of this contribution.

Scotland's profile of volunteering

National Average 48%

48% of adults in Scotland have volunteered, that’s over 2.17 million people. This overall figure combines those who’ve volunteered formally (providing unpaid help through an organisation or group) with those who’ve volunteered informally (helping someone who is not a friend or relative) in the last year.

In 2018 in Scotland, formal and informal volunteers contributed:

361 million hours of help

150m formal volunteering hours and 211m informal volunteering hours (numbers have been rounded to the nearest half a million or 500,000.

5.5 billion to local economy

£2.3bn from formal volunteering and £3.2bn from informal volunteering (numbers have been rounded to the nearest million or 1,000,000.

Note: Data on the economic value of volunteering is only available on a 2 year basis.

The total numbers of hours volunteered along with the economic value of this contribution are calculated the following sources:

  • Participation rates, frequency and intensity data from the Scottish Household Survey
  • The mid year population estimates and the average Scottish weekly wage, from the National Records of Scotland.  

Local area profiles

Scottish Household Survey Data: Due to the small sample sizes for each local authority there can be large variability in SHS volunteering data year-on-year. Care should therefore be taken in the use and interpretation of participation rates, hours volunteered and economic values.

Click to view local areas:

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Aberdeen City

  • 26% of adults in Aberdeen City volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 6.2 million hours of help
  • £95.3 million to the local economy

Aberdeenshire

  • 29% of adults in Aberdeenshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 7.2 million hours of help
  • £111.2 million to the local economy

Angus

  • 33% of adults in Angus volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 5.4 million hours of help
  • £80.6 million to the local economy

Argyll and Bute

  • 25% of adults in Argyll and Bute volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2.7 million hours of help
  • £35.8 million to the local economy

Clackmannanshire

  • 28% of adults in Clackmannanshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 1.1 million hours of help
  • £14.3 million to the local economy

Dumfries and Galloway

  • 22% of adults in Dumfries and Galloway volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3.5 million hours of help
  • £46.6 million to the local economy

Dundee City

  • 25% of adults in Dundee City volunteer formally through an organisation or group.
  • 2.9 million hours of help
  • £41.3 million to the local economy

East Ayrshire

  • 24% of adults in East Ayrshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3 million hours of help
  • £44.6 million to the local economy

East Dunbartonshire

  • 26% of adults in East Dunbartonshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3.1 million hours of help
  • £56.2 million to the local economy

East Lothian

  • 33% of adults in East Lothian volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3.1 million hours of help
  • £46.9 million to the local economy

East Refrewshire

  • 30% of adults in East Renfrewshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2.7 million hours of help
  • £52.3 million to the local economy

Edinburgh

  • 51% of adults in Edinburgh volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 32.5 million hours of help
  • £522 million to the local economy

Falkirk

  • 27% of adults in Falkirk volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 4.3 million hours of help
  • £67.3 million to the local economy

Fife

  • 22% of adults in Fife volunteer formally through an organisation or group. 
  • 7.3 million hours of help
  • £108.5 million to the local economy

Glasgow

  • 40% of adults in Glasgow volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 30 million hours of help
  • £434 million to the local economy

Highland​

  • 41% of adults in Highland volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 12.8 million hours of help
  • £188.1 million to the local economy

Inverclyde​

  • 23% of adults in Inverclyde volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2.7 million hours of help
  • £36 million to the local economy

Midlothian​

  • 26% of adults in Midlothian volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3.1 million hours of help
  • £46.5 million to the local economy

Moray

  • 31% of adults in Moray volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 3.5 million hours of help
  • £43.2 million to the local economy

Na h-Eileanan Siar​

  • 39% of adults in Na h-Eileanan Siar volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 1.2 million hours of help
  • £17.2 million to the local economy

North Ayrshire

  • 25% of adults in North Ayrshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 4.2 million hours of help
  • £63.8 million to the local economy

North Lanarkshire

  • 24% of adults in North Lanarkshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group.
  • 6.7 million hours of help
  • £103.4 million to the local economy

Orkney

  • 30% of adults in Orkney volunteer formally through an organisation or group.
  • 0.8 million hours of help
  • £11.7 million to the local economy

Perth and Kinross

  • 29% of adults in Perth and Kinross volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 6.3 million hours of help
  • £90.4 million to the local economy

Renfrewshire

  • 26% of adults in Renfrewshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 5.8 million hours of help
  • £87.5 million to the local economy

Scottish Borders

  • 32% of adults in Scottish Borders volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2.9 million hours of help
  • £39.8 million to the local economy

Shetland

  • 52% of adults in Shetland volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 1.1 million hours of help
  • £16.8 million to the local economy

South Ayrshire

  • 24% of adults in South Ayrshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2.7 million hours of help
  • £42.2 million to the local economy

South Lanarkshire

  • 24% of adults in South Lanarkshire,volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 8.8 million hours of help
  • £136.6 million to the local economy

Stirling

  • 35% of adults in Stirling volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 1.7 million hours of help
  • £26.7 million to the local economy

West Dunbartonshire

  • 15% of adults in West Dunbartonshire volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 2 million hours of help
  • £28.6 million to the local economy

West Lothian

  • 32% of adults in West Lothian volunteer formally through an organisation or group
  • 4.1 million hours of help
  • £62.1 million to the local economy

For local authority calculations the local area population is used as well as the average Scottish weekly wage, within each area.

Check out our latest Research

Our publications help provide an insight into all aspects of volunteering. Covering a range of categories including cost of living, volunteer participation and more.
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