Religion is the most popular voluntary group activity, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The new figures emerge from the 2006 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) which is carried out throughout the European Union. They are published in the CSO’s Community Involvement and Social Networks document.

In an analysis of a range of group activities, the study found that the most common form of group activity in Ireland was religious, with 48 per cent of people reporting that they participated in religious activities or ceremonies.

The next most common form of group activity was defined as recreational. Only four per cent of people reported engagement in political groups, including political parties.

The group activities which were included in the SILC were Political, Professional, Religious, Recreational and Other groups. ‘Other groups’ included environmental organisations, civil rights groups, neighbourhood associations etc.

The survey found that nearly two thirds of the population aged 16 and over took part in one or more of the group activities identified.

Overall, there was no significant difference in participation levels across gender (65 per cent for both males and females).

However, males were more likely to participate in recreational groups (41 per cent of males compared with 31 per cent of females) while females were more inclined to be involved in religious groups (51 per cent of females compared with 45 per cent of males). Males (10 per cent) were twice as likely to be involved in a professional association as females (five per cent).

Age also had an impact on participation. Participation levels were 67 per cent or higher for persons aged 35 or over, while participation levels of 60 per cent or lower were recorded for persons under the age of 35.

According to the research, participation in group activities was highest in the Midland region (76 per cent) compared with the South-East region which recorded the lowest level of participation at 53 per cent.

The SILC questionnaire also asked about participation in unpaid, informal charitable work, in order to capture instances where respondents donate some of their time or resources to specific activities without expectations about getting specific benefits in return.

Overall, nearly one quarter (24 per cent) of the population aged 16 and over participated in informal, unpaid charity work in 2006.

Women (28 per cent) were more likely than men (21 per cent) to participate in this type of activity, while those aged 45-54 were more likely to engage in this sort of voluntary activity compared with those aged 16-24 (17 per cent)