One in three adults in the Czech Republic volunteered last year, according to research by the STEM analytical institute. The total amount of voluntary work done corresponded to approximately 95,000 full-time jobs, which is worth around CZK 34 billion.
Approximately half of this was organised volunteering, while the other half was informal direct help that people arranged themselves, such as helping neighbours, babysitting or walking dogs for a friend, cleaning up the countryside, accompanying a senior citizen to the doctor, or shopping for someone with limited mobility.
“In our research, we use a broad definition of volunteer work as unpaid work that a person performs for the benefit of someone who is not a member of their family or household,” said STEM Research Director Jaromir Mazak.
In addition to volunteering, the research also focused on charitable donations and public attitudes towards solidarity. STEM found that in 2023, companies and individuals donated almost CZK 21 billion, equivalent to about 0.3% of GDP. Of this, more than CZK 6 billion was donated by companies and more than CZK 14 billion by individuals. Of the latter amount, around CZK 6 billion was claimed as tax relief, and almost CZK 8 billion was donated by people who never claimed their donation on their tax return.
According to the researchers, a paradox of their findings is that although people highly respect the value of solidarity and helping each other, there is low trust among the Czech population. 70% of people agree with the statement that “the level of a society is known by how it can take care of the weakest”, and even more (74%) agreed that “people should help each other even if they do not benefit directly from it”.
At the same time, however, there is a very low level of trust of others in Czech society. According to the Institute, only one fifth of people think that most people can be trusted. “This contradiction may reduce people’s willingness to engage in donating or volunteering, especially if they fear that their help will not be used properly or will be misused,” the survey authors said.
The results of the research also included the Solidarity Index, a measure of philanthropy in Czech society that STEM plans to publish annually to track trends in volunteering and donating. The institute has also launched a separate website for the index, which combines volunteering and donation behaviour, as well as attitudes towards solidarity. Based around a scale of zero to five, the first average value of the index in the population is 1.97, according to STEM, corresponding to 39.4%.
The survey took place from 14-25 November 2024, with approximately 2,000 Czech residents over 18 participating.
