2012 Official Volunteer Abroad Report

The #1 searched country

India came in at number one for the most global monthly searches for volunteer opportunities. With more than a billion people living in India and almost 26 million tourists visiting India each year, it’s clear why so many people are searching for volunteer opportunities in India.

While some issues like poverty, education and health care are pressing, India could use support from volunteers in nearly every sector. According to the UN Millennial Campaign to end poverty, “Among the gravest challenges facing India today is its persistently high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).” There are many chances for volunteers to fight to save mothers and infants alike by working with organizations and NGO’s dedicated to providing health care support in India.

Maybe there are greater factors than the social issues that attract volunteers to India. It could be the leftover relics of history of ancient India, the wildlife, the large and diverse economy, the rich culture, or a number of other attractions in rural areas and cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Top ten searched countries

The top ten most searched countries for volunteer opportunities abroad includes countries in varying locations with a wide range of differences and similarities.

Europe is the only continent not represented in the top 10. This doesn’t come as a surprise since more volunteer work is needed in developing nations in South America, Africa and Asia. For this reason, the United States may seem out of place in the top 10; however there are a few recent events that help shed light on the high demand for volunteering abroad in the United States.

A few possible reasons for the US’s top spot include:

• The US government’s push to increase tourism.
• The fact that most volunteer organizations are based in the United States.
• A modern/new “American Dream” that motivates people to come to the US to volunteer.
• For many people around the world volunteering in the United States may be more of an exotic adventure than US citizens realize.

**These search result numbers don’t include searches made from within the United States. This was done to make sure that people volunteering locally weren’t didn’t change the results. See the Methodology section for more details.

Common Theme for Volunteering in 2012: Disaster Relief

Another pattern in the top 10 is the trend for disaster relief volunteering. This report makes it clear that natural disasters have a large impact on where volunteers decide to spend their time helping others abroad. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti, one of the deadliest of all time, ignited the spirit of volunteerism worldwide. From sending care packages and money to rescue efforts and building shelters, we saw many forms of volunteering in action. Similarly, the earthquake in Japan in 2011 inspired 930,000 people worldwide to get involved in disaster relief.

This may offer another explanation for the popularity of searches for volunteer opportunities in the United States. Tens of thousands of volunteers came from all over the globe to lend a hand during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and even now New Orleans is still recovering and rebuilding with the help of local and international volunteers.

What does this data tell us?

Based on our insider industry knowledge, we assumed that most people want to volunteer in underdeveloped nations for a few reasons. First, Third World countries seem like the place where volunteers can have the most impact. Second, volunteers from industrialized, Western countries can get away from the hectic, technology-driven lifestyle back home. While there are many worthy volunteer projects at home in the United States and in other Western countries, voluntourists are usually looking for something that offers a bigger change from the norm.

Based on this, our expectations were a little off. Countries that need the most help in terms of development aren’t necessarily at the top of this list. This tells us that many people volunteer for personal reasons as well. Long-term volunteer trips and projects focused on advocacy and policy are probably most effective when it comes to alleviation of poverty. Even so, the little things should never be underestimated. Changing one life or helping one person is more than enough to make a volunteer trip worth it.

Table 1 shows our top results and the countries’ poverty levels. Other countries that have high poverty levels include: Madagascar 81.3%, Niger 43.6%, Zambia 68.5%, Swaziland 40.6%, Nigeria 69%, and many more unfortunately.

*Statistics were collected from the World Bank, some poverty levels are more up to date than others. Poverty level is defined as "percentage of the population living on less than $1.25 a day at 2005 international prices."

These tables show the top ten countries with the highest number of endangered plants and animals. Conservation volunteering is very popular in tropical countries (like environmental research in Australia, and turtle conservation in Ecuador or Costa Rica). African and Asian countries with diverse animal and plant populations are also popular volunteer destinations.

However, these statistics from the World Bank (tables 2 and 3) tell us that volunteers choose their destination based on other factors since only three of the top ten searched countries appear on these lists. Even if volunteers are working with wildlife in countries with a smaller number of endangered species, they are still filling an important need and making a difference. Voluntourism is clearly a mutually beneficial action – volunteers choose the trip and destination based on interest and availability where they can enjoy a new culture and give back, and the host community gets help with various community development needs. As long as this relationship stays beneficial for both parties, voluntourism will continue to grow.

Comparing Countries by Continent

In addition to ranking the countries overall, we wanted to look at how they compared to other countries in the same continent. Smaller, lesser-known countries may draw fewer tourists but what does that mean for volunteers’ interest? Take a look for yourself!

Further Questions

Here are a few statistics to give you an idea of how many people volunteer overseas, where they go, and why.

• Nearly 1.1 million volunteers served with an organization located overseas in 2007. (PDX Survey).
• A large number of people who volunteer abroad have also volunteered in their home country (60%), with another 33% interested in volunteering who haven’t yet found the right opportunity. (Volunteer Travel Insights).
• The top overall volunteer travel destinations (in 2009) were Peru (23%) and Brazil (14%). For Americans, the top destinations were Peru (16%) and Costa Rica (15%). (Volunteer Travel Insights).
• 59 million people in the US did volunteer work in 2001/2002. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Individuals gave $211.77 billion in 2010, about the same as in 2009. (Giving USA).
• In 2010, 4,628 UN Volunteers went abroad on a volunteer trip, the most popular regions were North and West Africa. Eighty percent of UN Volunteers come from developing nations. (UN Volunteer statistics worldwide - 2010 Annual Report).

Final Thoughts

Voluntourism, an ever-changing and growing industry, can take place anywhere and involve any type of work, from physical labor to research. Whether you want to go somewhere popular with many volunteering options or somewhere more remote and challenging, there is sure to be numerous ways for volunteers to help. While the search results may not have been exactly what we expected, these rankings tell us a lot about global trends in volunteering abroad. By understanding the how popularity relates to poverty and other factors, we can better understand the implications of voluntourism.

Use Go Overseas to find the perfect volunteering combination of your interests, travel and giving back!

Authored by Katie Boyer

Katie studied public relations at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA and is now working with Go Overseas in the Bay Area. Her experiences with traveling abroad combined with her passion for Latin American culture and community service fuel her writing and creativity.