In October 2007 Eurostat published a pocketbook Cultural statistics with focus on culture. There has not been an update on this book since then and moreover this is the first and only Eurostat edition on this subject.
Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities and among other things in their book they compare the average daily time spent on various activities by the inhabitants of eight European countries (see Chapter 3: Time spent on cultural activities).
It is a useful source of information, allowing interesting comparisons. The main categories of activities are TV and video, Freetime, Eating, Sleep, Household work and Work and study. It is interesting to notice that TV and video is outside Freetime, implying probably that these activities should not be mixed.
The mean durations of the activities across countries are similar but there are some curious differences. Lunch breaks for example are longer in the Mediterranean countries and France in particular, lowering the leisure time of the French. No wonder the French cuisine is so popular! According to the pocketbook, the people in the Mediterranean also read much less.
A short passage tells us that gender also plays a role in the usage of time and reads:
Men in every country generally have more leisure time than women and devote more of their time to television and video than to other cultural activities.
This is probably due to the fact that women traditionally are more involved in the household and this gives men a sort of time advantage.
While it is good to know the statistics it is also nice to be aware of where you stand. Questions that need to be addressed include: Do I watch too much TV? Do I spend too much hours in the office? How much is my free time? Is the way I use time a cultural thing and how can I change it in a positive direction?
Do you think your culture affects your way of using time?