GfK - Four in ten people help others a minimum of once a month

NUREMBERG, Germany, November 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• Mexico, USA and Netherlands lead for populations who help others a minimum of once a month 
• Men slightly ahead of women overall 
• 20-29 year olds lead across age groups 

In the run up to Christmas, it is comforting to know that habits of generosity are still strong. Results just released by GfK show that, amongst the online population across 17 countries, four out of ten people help others or do volunteer work a minimum of once a month. This is made up of four percent who help others 'every or most days', 14 percent who do so 'at least once a week' and 21 percent who help others 'at least once a month'.  

The results for men versus women in the GfK survey were very even across each category. However, men are slightly more likely than women to say they help others at least once a week - standing at 15 percent for men and 13 percent for women. And a quarter of women (25 percent) class themselves as never helping others or doing volunteer work, compared to 23 percent of men.

Similarly, the findings across different age groups were fairly even. However, those aged 20-29 years old are slightly more likely than the other age groups to help others daily (6 percent) and monthly (24 percent), while they come level with teenagers (15-19 year olds) for helping others at least once a week (17 percent).

Mexico, USA and Netherlands in the lead for helping monthly or more, followed by China, Brazil and Germany 

Of the countries surveyed, Mexico comes out as having the highest percentage of online population who are regular volunteers. Looking at those who say they help others or do volunteer work monthly, weekly or daily, almost half of Mexicans (49 percent) fall into this category, followed by Americans at 46 percent and the Dutch at 45 percent. China, Brazil and Germany are also above the international average (39 percent) for this, standing at 44 percent, 43 percent and 40 percent respectively.

Countries where people appear less volunteer-minded are South Korea, Japan and France, where 52 percent, 45 percent and 38 percent respectively class themselves as never helping others or doing volunteer work.

These findings give national and global charities valuable insight into which audiences within each country may be most receptive to requests for volunteers - especially when combined with GfK attitudinal data, showing people's personal values across countries, genders and age groups.

To download full findings for each of the 17 countries, please visit http://www.gfk.com/global-studies/global-study-overview/

About the study 

GfK conducted the online survey with over 22,000 consumers aged 15 or older across 17 countries. Fieldwork was completed in summer 2016. Data are weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the online population aged 15+ in each market.