According to the findings of the third Time Allowance Survey carried out by Eustat in 2003, the way that the population distributes the time it dedicates daily to the various activities under study has not varied significantly since 1998, although new trends have been observed.

The population aged 16 or over in the A.C. of the Basque Country dedicates an average social time of 11 hours and 50 minutes to the satisfaction of physiological needs and personal care, 16 minutes more than in 1998; additionally, it dedicates 3 hours and 23 minutes to paid work and training, 2 hours and 23 minutes to domestic chores, 58 minutes to socialising –somewhat less than in 1998–, 3 hours and 56 minutes to leisure, 1 hour and 8 minutes to displacements and 21 minutes per day to looking after other people.

8 minutes more are given to eating outside of the home than in 1998, making a 36% increase on the part of the population that practise this activity.

Time dedicated to sleep came to 8 hours and 45 minutes, remaining unchanged from the previous period. The rise in the amount of time dedicated to physiological needs and personal care is mainly due to the time employed in meals and snacks outside the home, an activity whose participation rate –percentage of the total population that practises the activity- grew 14 points (36% more), while its average time per participant was 8 minutes longer than in 1998, coming to 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Work time has reduced by 14 minutes per day in the last 5 years

In the last five years, counting only Monday to Thursday, there has been a reduction of 14 minutes per day in the time that the working population devotes to paid work. There has also been a fall in the amount of time that students devote to study: 26 minutes less than in 1998 from Monday to Thursday and as much as 43 minutes less on Fridays.

In 2003, women worked 1 hour and 9 minutes less in paid employment than men, also counting only from Monday to Thursday. The average working day for men on these days was 7 hours and 4 minutes. On Fridays, men worked 4 minutes less and women as much as 25 minutes less than on other working days.

A substantial part of the variations discovered in the use of time comes from the increase in paid employment by women. The male participation rate in the principal professional work in 2003 was 46.8% and the female one was 30.8%, 2.2 per cent more than in 1998 for the former group and double (4.1 per cent more) in the case of women.

Just over one in five people aged 16 or over –21.4%- say they do not devote any time to domestic chores, while the rest spend 3 hours and 2 minutes per day.

Women spend 3 hours and 31 minutes on domestic chores, 2 hours and 21 minutes more than men do. There was a fall of 3 per cent in the amount of the population who carry out these tasks –78.6% in 2003-, but on average, 4 minutes more are spent than in 1998. However, there is a slightly different distribution depending on the day of the week: from Monday to Thursday it hardly varies –2 minutes more-, but on Friday, 18 minutes less are spent on these tasks and between 18 and 20 minutes more on Saturdays and Sundays.

One in five people aged 16 or over –19.7%- devoted a daily average of 1 hour and 46 minutes to caring for people in the home, either children or the elderly. There was a rise of 5 minutes in relation to 1998. For men this activity took up 1 hour and 22 minutes and for women it was 2 hours. Looking after children grew by 6 minutes, making 1 hour and 22 minutes for those that have this duty, while the care of adults fell by almost 15 minutes.

On average, the population devotes 7 minutes per day to computers and the Internet

91.5% of the population had time for passive leisure –press, television, entertainment, games, etc.- although this percentage fell 2.6 per cent with respect to 1998. The population as a whole devoted a daily average of 2 hours and 39 minutes to this type of leisure, a 15-minute decrease over the last five years.

Taking the case of the broadcasting and information media –printed and audio-visual-, a 5 per cent fall can be seen in the proportion of users of these media, representing a rate of 84.5% in 2003. These people devote an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes to the media, 15 minutes less than in 1998. The fall in time was 17 minutes for men and 12 for women.

Just over a quarter of the population – 26.7%- claimed to spend an average of 1 hour and 11 minutes relaxing, thinking and doing nothing, 19 minutes more than five years ago.

The average social time devoted to active leisure – doing sports, walking or going on excursions, surfing the Internet, etc.- was 5 minutes more than in 1998. 60% of the population carry out activities included in this section, with a 7% growth in the last five years.

Those activities related to the Internet and other products of Information Technology made an important impact, accounting for an average social time of 7 minutes per day. Men had a greater participation than women in these activities.

There was a 28% decrease in the population that spend time visiting friends or going out for drinks, devoting 2 hours and 5 minutes to these activities

Just over half of the population aged 16 or over –52.7%- spend 1 hour and 50 minutes per day to activities related to socialising: visiting friends, talking, taking part in political parties or associations, religious practises, etc. Although the proportion of the population who carry out these activities fell by almost 6 per cent, the average time used by those who do practise them grew by 2 minutes.

18.2% of the population state that they spend time visiting or receiving friends, going out for drinks or going to concerts or dances, a figure notably smaller than the 25.6% that appeared in the 1998 survey. The average daily time spent by this group came to 2 hours and 5 minutes, four minutes more than five years ago.

The time spent in conversation, especially by telephone, grew by 14 minutes per day, making a figure of 1 hour and 15 minutes. On Saturdays and Sundays this average rises to 1 hour and 32 minutes and 1 hour 27 minutes respectively.

The inhabitants of Bizkaia are the residents of the A.C. of the Basque Country who sleep the least and spend the most time on the telephone and in conversation; those of Álava the ones who work the most and study the least and those of Gipuzkoa who do the most sport and are most drawn to the broadcasting and information media and socialising.

The residents of Bizkaia sleep 8 hours and 37 minutes a day, 19 minutes less than those of Gipuzkoa and 15 less than in Álava. Of the latter group, those that are in work spend an average of 7 hours and 14 minutes per day in their job, 8 minutes more than those from Gipuzkoa and 14 minutes more than the residents of Bizkaia.

However, students from Álava –those doing regulation studies- spend 18 minutes less per day on study and attending classes than do their counterparts from Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, who spend a daily average of 4 hours and 55 minutes.

17.5% of the residents of the province of Gipuzkoa usually visit or receive friends, go out for drinks or similar activities that might come under the category of socialising, spending an average of 2 hours and 16 minutes, 18 minutes more than in Álava and 16 more than in Bizkaia.

It is in Bizkaia where the greatest proportion of people stated that they talk habitually by telephone or talk with friends and family, a figure of 42.8%, while in Álava and Gipuzkoa the percentage is 35%. Furthermore, they spend a daily average of 1 hour and 17 minutes, 8 minutes more than in Álava and 2 more than in Gipuzkoa.

The people of Gipuzkoa devote 1 hour 31 minutes to the practise of sports, 14 minutes more than those of Álava and 10 more than Bizkaia.

It is also in Gipuzkoa where people devote the most time per day on the broadcasting and information media: an average of 2 hours 34 minutes, 14 minutes more than in Álava and 7 more than in Bizkaia.

Evolution of average social time per participant and rate, according to the type of activity and day of the week. 1998-2003. hrs:min.

Source: Eustat