Youth civic engagement takes many forms: voting, researching political issues, volunteering, joining organizations, acting online, and participating in international programs. The available statistics show substantial youth participation, but the figures come from different official surveys, age bands, countries, and measurement periods. They should therefore be read as distinct indicators rather than pooled into one global rate.
Contents
- Youth voting and electoral participation
- Political action beyond elections
- Volunteering and social action
- Organizations and community groups
- Digital civic and political engagement
- Leadership and international exchange
- Participation gaps and how to read the figures
Youth voting and electoral participation
Canadian youth reported voting at lower rates than older age groups in federal, provincial, and municipal elections. In the 2019 federal election, 80% of Canadians aged 18–30 reported voting, compared with 86% of those aged 31–46 and 90% of people aged 47 and older. The figures come from Portrait of youth in Canada: Political participation and civic engagement (Statistics Canada).
The same Canadian source reported 73% participation among 18–30-year-olds in the most recent provincial election reported in 2022. The corresponding rates were 85% for 31–46-year-olds and 89% for people aged 47 and older. Municipal voting was lower across all groups: 53% among 18–30-year-olds, 68% among 31–46-year-olds, and 78% among people aged 47 and older. These provincial and municipal figures describe the elections reported in the 2022 report, not one common election date.
European survey results provide a broader age range and a different question. In a March 2019 EU youth survey, 72% of people aged 15–30 said they had voted at least once in a local, national, or European election. In the same 2019 survey, 52% of people aged 15–24 reported strong or moderate interest in politics, compared with 63% of 25–39-year-olds. The source is the Council of the European Union’s “Youth engagement in society”.
The 2024 EU Youth and Democracy survey measured intention and perceived effectiveness during 3–12 April 2024. Sixty-four percent of young people said they intended to vote in the European elections, while 38% identified voting as the most effective action for making their voice heard. Thirteen percent said they were not interested in voting. These results are from the European Commission’s New Eurobarometer survey on young people’s civic and democratic participation.
| Indicator | Youth result | Comparison or context | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian federal voting, ages 18–30 | 80% | Ages 31–46: 86%; ages 47+: 90% | 2019 federal election |
| Canadian provincial voting, ages 18–30 | 73% | Ages 31–46: 85%; ages 47+: 89% | Most recent provincial election reported in 2022 |
| Canadian municipal voting, ages 18–30 | 53% | Ages 31–46: 68%; ages 47+: 78% | Most recent municipal election reported in 2022 |
| EU youth intending to vote | 64% | European election intention | 3–12 April 2024 |
Political action beyond elections
Voting is only one measure of civic engagement. In Canada, 67% of youth aged 15–30 searched for information on a political issue, according to the 2022 report using the cited youth participation data. Forty-eight percent signed an internet petition. Other actions were less common: 37% boycotted or chose a product for ethical reasons, 24% expressed views through an internet forum or news website, 15% wore a badge or T-shirt or displayed a lawn sign supporting or opposing a political or social cause, and 14% participated in a demonstration or march. These measures are reported by Statistics Canada.
The 2024 EU survey found that 48% of young people had taken action to change society by signing a petition, joining a rally, or sending a letter to a politician. Issue-based participation was also visible: 34% had taken action on human-rights issues, 33% on climate-change or environmental issues, 29% on health and wellbeing, and 29% on equal rights regardless of gender, race, or sexuality. The EU results cover the 3–12 April 2024 survey period and come from the European Commission.
Together, these figures describe several routes into public life: information seeking, consumer choices, online expression, collective demonstration, and issue campaigns. They are not interchangeable measures. A person who searches for political information is counted differently from someone who signs a petition or attends a march.
Volunteering and social action
Canadian youth recorded a comparatively high formal volunteer rate. Forty-six percent of youth aged 15–30 volunteered formally, compared with 44% of 31–46-year-olds and 38% of people aged 47 and older. This result is from the 2022 report using the cited youth participation data in Portrait of youth in Canada.
The UK Youth Participation Pilot measured activity during the 12 months before its 2024 pilot survey. Forty-four percent of young people had done some kind of volunteering. Twenty percent reported raising money for charity, 15% helped a non-family member, and 8% volunteered through the Scouts, Girl Guides, Cadets, or similar groups. The pilot also found that 47% had taken part in some kind of social action during that period. Helping to improve the local area was reported by 24%, organising or signing petitions by 22%, and campaigning or raising awareness by 9%. The source is the UK government’s Youth Participation Pilot Survey: Executive summary.
The UK pilot recorded differences within its sample. Volunteering was reported by 48% of young people describing themselves as female and 39% describing themselves as male. It was also reported by 47% of young people who did not receive free school meals, compared with 39% of those who did receive them. These are survey-group comparisons, not explanations for the differences.
Australia’s 2025 General Social Survey used another definition: unpaid voluntary work through an organisation. Under that measure, 16.4% of people aged 15–24 participated, compared with 13.1% of 25–34-year-olds. The result is published in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, 2025. The Australian measure should not be directly equated with the broader Canadian or UK volunteering measures.
Organizations and community groups
Organizations provide regular settings for teamwork, leadership practice, and community participation. In Canada, 53% of youth aged 15–30 participated in a sport or recreational organization. Thirty-four percent participated in a cultural, educational, or hobby organization, while 26% participated in a school group, neighbourhood, civic, or community organization.
Other Canadian organization types also reached meaningful shares: 24% participated in a union or professional association, and 17% participated in a religious-affiliated group. These figures come from Statistics Canada’s Portrait of youth in Canada, using the 2022 report’s cited youth participation data.
The 2024 EU Youth and Democracy survey used a wider organization measure. Sixty-four percent of young people said they had participated in the activities of one or more organisations during the previous 12 months. Because the Canadian categories and the EU question are structured differently, the percentages should not be ranked as a common participation league table. The EU result is reported by the European Commission.
Digital civic and political engagement
Eurostat reported that 24.3% of young people aged 16–29 in the EU engaged with civic or political issues online in 2025. The corresponding share for the overall population was 20.2%. The measure therefore shows a higher youth rate within the EU aggregate, while still leaving most young people outside the counted online activity. The source is Eurostat’s “Youth civic & political engagement online: 24%”.
Country results varied considerably in the same 2025 Eurostat reporting. Online civic or political participation reached 49.4% among young people aged 16–29 in Slovenia, 33.3% in Latvia, and 31.3% in the Netherlands. It was 16.1% in Sweden and Greece, 14.3% in Czechia, and 12.3% in Belgium.
| EU location | Young people aged 16–29 engaging online in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Slovenia | 49.4% |
| Latvia | 33.3% |
| Netherlands | 31.3% |
| Sweden and Greece | 16.1% |
| Czechia | 14.3% |
| Belgium | 12.3% |
These figures measure internet use for civic or political participation, not all online political activity and not offline engagement. They also use ages 16–29, unlike the Canadian 15–30 age band and the EU survey’s young-people definition.
Leadership and international exchange
International experience is one pathway through which young people can build leadership, collaboration, and cross-border civic connections. In the 2024 EU Youth and Democracy survey, more than 43% of young people had participated in an activity in another EU country. Among reported activities in another EU country, studying or training accounted for 16%, volunteering for 12%, and working for 12%. These are shares of reported activity types, not rates for the whole youth population. The findings are from the European Commission survey, with previous experience reported in April 2024.
Access and awareness also mattered. Forty-nine percent of young people said they were aware of funding opportunities offered by Erasmus+. Sixty-seven percent said the EU had at least some impact on their daily life, while 26% said it did not have an impact and 7% did not know whether it had an impact. The survey period for these responses was 3–12 April 2024.
Participation gaps and how to read the figures
The statistics point to several participation gaps without reducing civic engagement to a single youth profile. In Canada, reported electoral participation was lower among 18–30-year-olds than among older groups in federal, provincial, and municipal elections. At the same time, Canadian formal volunteering among ages 15–30 was higher than the reported rates for older groups. In the UK pilot, volunteering differed by self-described gender and free-school-meal status. In the EU, online civic participation differed sharply between countries, from 49.4% among 16–29-year-olds in Slovenia to 12.3% in Belgium.
Comparisons require care because the figures cover different official surveys and age bands. Canadian youth generally means ages 15–30 unless a claim specifies ages 18–30. The UK pilot uses its own definition of young people; EU Eurobarometer figures refer to ages 15–30; Eurostat digital figures refer to ages 16–29; and the Australian figures use the stated 15–24 and 25–34 bands. Measurement periods range from the 2019 federal election and March 2019 EU survey to 2022 reports, the 2024 EU survey, the 2024 UK pilot, and 2025 digital and Australian results. The periods are retained as published and are not forecasts. Legacy figures are presented as reported by their named sources, not as independently rechecked estimates.