International Volunteerism in the United States, 2005

This working paper uses 2005 CPS data to describe the frequency of international volunteerism in the United States by select demographic characteristics and length of service abroad. Nearly one million individuals reported volunteering internationally at least once in 2005. Young or middle-aged college graduates with higher-incomes, employed full-time, and married without dependent children were the most frequent candidates for service abroad. The majority of volunteers spent two weeks or less overseas, and volunteered with a faith-based organization either domestically or internationally. Limitations in the data help identify areas needing further research