Charitable and social action
At an overall level, around nine in ten (89%) people in Wales have participated in at least one charitable or social action over the previous year. This is a similar proportion compared to the UK as a whole (87%). When asked about participation in the last four weeks, 67% say they have participated, higher than the UK average of 64%. We will look at each of these measures in more detail in subsequent paragraphs.
Protesting and petitioning
Signing a petition is the third most popular charitable activity to be undertaken in the last year. Over half (52%) of those interviewed in Wales in 2018 had signed a petition in the previous year whilst 26% had done so over the previous four weeks.
These figures are slightly higher than those recorded for the UK as a whole where 49% had signed a petition in the last year. Our research also revealed:
- Women are more likely to have signed a petition than men in the last year (55% vs. 49%)
- 45–54 year olds are the least likely age group to have done so (43% vs. 52% on average across Wales)
- 16-24 year olds are more likely to attend a protest (10% vs. 5% average)
- A protest is the least common charitable activity to take part in of all those asked about
Who engages most?
Overall women are more likely to engage in charitable or social activities, with 73% having done so in the last year compared to 63% of men.Among all adults aged 65+, only 7% have not participated in at least one charitable or social action in the last year compared to 15% of 16–24s. These again are similar to the figures for the UK as a whole.