Two thirds of people in Switzerland engage in different forms of volunteer work. According to a study, men are more often involved in associations, while women represent the majority of people who take care of the work of care.
Participation in volunteering has remained surprisingly stable over time, according to The Volunteer Observatory in Switzerland 2025published Monday by the Swiss company of public utility (SSUP). During the COVVI-19 pandemic, commitment to associations and organizations has certainly decreased, but the situation normalized in 2024.
During a year, 41% of the population aged over 15 years old engages in associations or organizations. The instructor classifies this type of participation as formal volunteer.
Sports associations in mind
Sports associations, followed by leisure associations and cultural associations, have the largest number of volunteers. According to the instructor, this represents 17% of the resident population who exercises a volunteer activity.
In international comparison, Switzerland is distinguished by a high level of voluntary commitment. It is at the forefront in Europe, both in the field of formal and informed volunteering.
In 48% of cases, people have received no financial compensation for their volunteer work, while in 33% of cases, the costs were borne. The remaining 19% received financial compensation greater than the reimbursement of costs. Men (18.80 francs) received an average of almost five more francs per hour than women (13.90 francs).
>> Interview with Nicolas Barras, Volunteer-VAUD director. ::
Less differences
Apart from associations or organizations, 51% of the population performs voluntary work, qualified as informal by the instructor. Only the commitment to people who do not live in the same household is taken into account. These are often support and care tasks, called “care” work (care in English, editor’s note.).
Women (56%) make this type of work much more than men (46%), depending on the report. This is noted in particular in the field of child care, care for the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities.
The differences between the sexes in terms of participation in volunteering are however in decline. They also depend on the professional and personal situation, specifies the report.
ats/lan