93/2004 -
European Time Use
Survey
How is the time of Europeans distributed?
Differences
between women and men
How is the time of Europeans aged from 20 to 74 split? How much more time per day do women spend on domestic activities than men? What do women and men do in their free time? A publication1 issued today by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, aims to shed light on the everyday lives of women and men aged from 20 to 74 in nine EU Member States (Belgium, Germany, Estonia, France, Hungary, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom) and Norway. The data originate from national Time Use Surveys2 conducted between 1998 and 2002. It provides statistics on the division of gainful and domestic work between women and men, and on their participation in education, cultural activities and other spheres of life (voluntary work, care, mobility, leisure time…).
Large differences between employed women and
men
The tables below show the breakdown of average time3 spent on an activity4 per day. The average time is an average across the group of all employed persons, and across the whole year (working days and weekends, as well as holiday periods). This explains why the time spent on gainful work is significantly less than a normal working day. When including all days of the year, employed men spent on the average between 5 and 5½ hours on gainful work and study per day and employed women between 4 and 4½.
Across the ten
countries covered by the survey, and for both sexes, the largest part of the
day was taken up by sleep, generally a little more than 8 hours per day. In all
countries, women spent significantly more time on domestic work, and men on
gainful work and study. Employed men also had more free time than employed women.
The time spent on meals and personal care, sleep and travel were about the same
for both men and women.
Time use structure4 for employed
women
hours:minutes
per day
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
Free time and Unspecified |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meals, personal care |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sleep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic work |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gainful work, study |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
Time use structure4 for employed
men
hours:minutes per day
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
Free time and Unspecified |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meals, personal care |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sleep |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic work |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gainful work, study |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
Women
do more cooking and cleaning, men do more DIY and
gardening
In all ten
countries, women spent much more time than men on domestic work, ranging from
50% more in
Breakdown
of domestic activities of women aged 20 to 74
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
Food preparation |
22% |
20% |
27% |
24% |
29% |
29% |
23% |
23% |
23% |
22% |
|
Dish washing |
8% |
8% |
9% |
7% |
10% |
10% |
6% |
10% |
7% |
9% |
|
Cleaning and upkeep |
21% |
21% |
18% |
25% |
16% |
19% |
21% |
14% |
20% |
16% |
|
Laundry, ironing and handicrafts |
14% |
12% |
12% |
11% |
11% |
11% |
12% |
10% |
11% |
12% |
|
Gardening |
2% |
4% |
5% |
3% |
6% |
9% |
3% |
5% |
3% |
4% |
|
Construction and repairs |
2% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
|
Shopping and services* |
13% |
15% |
10% |
14% |
8% |
7% |
14% |
13% |
15% |
12% |
|
Childcare |
13% |
10% |
11% |
10% |
12% |
10% |
12% |
13% |
13% |
15% |
|
Other domestic work |
5% |
9% |
9% |
3% |
6% |
5% |
6% |
11% |
7% |
8% |
Breakdown
of domestic activities of men aged 20 to 74
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
Food preparation |
14% |
12% |
13% |
13% |
9% |
11% |
15% |
17% |
19% |
17% |
|
Dish washing |
6% |
6% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
2% |
3% |
7% |
7% |
6% |
|
Cleaning and upkeep |
13% |
18% |
21% |
16% |
18% |
20% |
25% |
13% |
14% |
14% |
|
Laundry, ironing and handicrafts |
2% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
3% |
3% |
1% |
|
Gardening |
11% |
7% |
7% |
13% |
20% |
20% |
4% |
7% |
9% |
7% |
|
Construction and repairs |
15% |
13% |
20% |
23% |
11% |
15% |
15% |
13% |
12% |
17% |
|
Shopping and services* |
16% |
20% |
12% |
19% |
10% |
10% |
19% |
15% |
17% |
15% |
|
Childcare |
12% |
7% |
7% |
6% |
10% |
7% |
8% |
11% |
9% |
12% |
|
Other domestic work |
10% |
15% |
14% |
5% |
20% |
14% |
8% |
14% |
10% |
12% |
* Shopping includes purchasing goods and
circling around at shops or markets. Services includes visiting public offices, and commercial or
personal services.
One
third to one half of free time spent watching TV and video
In all countries
men had more free time than women, ranging from 3% more in
Breakdown of free time activities of women aged 20 to
74
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
TV and video |
45% |
32% |
48% |
47% |
56% |
39% |
39% |
34% |
44% |
29% |
|
Socialising |
17% |
22% |
13% |
18% |
14% |
21% |
17% |
23% |
21% |
34% |
|
|
9% |
12% |
14% |
9% |
8% |
9% |
15% |
11% |
9% |
11% |
|
Sports and exercise |
5% |
9% |
6% |
9% |
5% |
10% |
9% |
8% |
4% |
8% |
|
Resting |
10% |
6% |
7% |
2% |
8% |
11% |
6% |
8% |
8% |
4% |
|
Hobbies and games |
5% |
8% |
2% |
5% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
6% |
5% |
4% |
|
Volunteer work and help |
3% |
5% |
5% |
6% |
3% |
2% |
5% |
4% |
5% |
3% |
|
Entertainment and culture |
3% |
4% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
4% |
|
Other free time |
3% |
3% |
4% |
2% |
3% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
Breakdown
of free time
activities of men aged 20 to 74
|
|
BE |
DE |
EE |
FR |
HU |
SI |
FI |
SE |
|
NO |
|
TV and video |
44% |
34% |
48% |
45% |
51% |
40% |
41% |
37% |
49% |
35% |
|
Socialising |
13% |
18% |
11% |
15% |
15% |
18% |
14% |
18% |
16% |
26% |
|
|
10% |
11% |
12% |
8% |
8% |
7% |
12% |
10% |
8% |
9% |
|
Sports and exercise |
7% |
8% |
9% |
13% |
6% |
11% |
10% |
10% |
6% |
9% |
|
Resting |
8% |
5% |
7% |
2% |
8% |
12% |
7% |
7% |
5% |
3% |
|
Hobbies and games |
8% |
12% |
3% |
6% |
4% |
5% |
6% |
10% |
8% |
7% |
|
Volunteer work and help |
3% |
5% |
5% |
6% |
4% |
3% |
5% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
|
Entertainment and culture |
3% |
4% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
4% |
|
Other free time |
4% |
3% |
4% |
3% |
2% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
1. Eurostat “How
Europeans spend their time -Everyday life of women and men - Data 1998 – 2002”, 140
pages, ISBN 92-894-7235-9, Paper version EUR 10 (excluding VAT), PDF version
free download from Eurostat website. Available in
English only.
2.
In a Time Use Survey a representative sample of
individuals completes a diary during one weekday and one weekend day
distributed over the whole year. One has to bear in mind that the results are
estimates and that sampling errors affect them. For small groups of individuals
the errors may be large. The response rates vary between the countries. This
has been taken into account in the estimation procedures. The results are
considered to be representative for the population indicated in the tables. Ten countries have
been included in this presentation because the survey methods used follow very
closely the Guidelines on Harmonised
European Time Use Surveys published by Eurostat in
September 2000. Data are also available for
3.
Although the average time is an
abstract measure and does not describe concrete everyday life at the individual
level, it is the best indicator of time use at the aggregate level and allows
comparisons between countries and population groups.
4.
Time use activities are categorised into six basic
groups:
·
Gainful work includes time
spent on main and second jobs and related activities, breaks and travel during
working hours, and on job seeking. The time spent on study at school and during free time is combined with gainful work.
·
Domestic work includes
housework, child and adult care, gardening and pet care, construction and repairs,
shopping and services, and household management.
·
Travel includes commuting
and trips connected with all kinds of activities, except travel during working
hours.
·
Sleep includes sleep
during night or daytime, waiting for sleep, naps, as well as passive lying in
bed because of sickness.
·
Meals, personal
care also includes snacks and drinks, dressing, personal hygiene, making up,
shaving, sexual activities and personal health care.
·
Free time includes all other kinds of
activities, e.g. volunteer work and meetings, helping other households,
socialising and entertainment, sports and outdoor activities, hobbies and
games, reading, watching TV, resting or doing nothing, as well as unspecified time use.
In
In
Issued by:
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Philippe Bautier
L-2920
Tel: +352-4301-33 444
Fax:
+352-4301-35 349
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For further information about the data:
Karin WINQVIST
Tel: +352-4301-35 581
Fax: +352-4301-34 415
Eurostat Data Shop Network:
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