More than a quarter of the UK (28%) is taking time out to volunteer at least once a month according to the first annual Volunteering Index, a report uncovering the nation’s voluntary habits from the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Youth, the community and the elderly are the focus of most voluntary activities. While a quarter of people across the UK (25%) spend time volunteering with young people and children, a fifth (21%) get involved in projects to benefit the local area and a further 15% work with older people.

Scotland is revealed to be the most dedicated region with around a quarter (23%) giving up time to volunteer at least once a week. Further findings show:

While Northern Ireland has less free time than any other part of the UK, it equals Scotland as having the largest proportion of those volunteering on a monthly basis (33%), followed by East Anglia, the North East, the South West and West Midlands (all 29%.)

Most in the UK volunteer for the sense of achievement it offers (47%), although most in Wales do it because of their life philosophy (46%).

Four in ten volunteers in Yorkshire and Humberside do so to improve the local community while half in the North East (51%) simply do it because it’s fun.

There was a general feeling among respondents that the economic situation will have an impact on volunteering in the UK.

Northern Ireland proved most optimistic however with 42% of people claiming the downturn won’t have any effect on activity levels. By contrast, the East Midlands, East Anglia and London were least confident with 15% in each region saying people will volunteer less in the face of uncertainty.

Many young people actually see volunteer work as a means of improving employment prospects, with 42% of 18-24 year-olds and more than half of students (57%) using it as an opportunity to develop skills.

The majority of the UK (57%) believes voluntary groups aren’t acknowledged enough publicly for the outstanding work they do, with around two-thirds in Northern Ireland (64%), Scotland (62%) and the West Midlands (62%) claiming greater acknowledgment is needed.