Press release 17/02/2016
Eustat releases a publication analysing two decades of social change in the Basque Country through the use of time
This case study is available in digital format online
Eustat has just published a new case study in digital format that analyses how the residents of the Basque Country spend their time. This study, entitled “Two decades of social change in the Basque Country looking at the use of time. Survey on Time Budgets, 1993-2013”, is available on the Eustat website.
The publication aims to provide an analysis of the most relevant social changes that have taken place in the Basque Country over the past two decades by studying and interpreting data from the Surveys on Time Budgets taken by Eustat every five years between 1993 and 2013.
In this report, you can find out interesting information, such as in 2013, a Basque citizen spent an average of 11 hours and 56 minutes per day satisfying physiological needs and personal care, 31 more minutes than in 1993; citizens spent 2 hours and 48 minutes on remunerated work and/or studies, 21 fewer minutes than in 1993, and 44 minutes on their social lives, 26 minutes fewer than two decades ago.
Additionally, the Basque spent 4 hours and 26 minutes on both active and passive leisure activities, 26 minutes more than in 1993; 1 hour and 13 minutes on commuting, 15 minutes more than twenty years ago; 2 hours and 24 minutes on domestic tasks, 16 minutes fewer than in 1993; and 29 minutes on caring for other individuals in the home, 10 minutes more than at the beginning of the survey.
The Survey on Time Budgets (EPT) provides comprehensive information about the daily life of the population from the perspective of how they spend their time and how it is distributed among their daily activities.
The use of this data allows us to determine how individuals and social groups spend their time on different activities, depending on variables such as age, gender, employment status, level of studies, and province where they live.
The Survey obtained information about different groups of activities such as: physiological necessities (principally sleeping, eating and personal care), remunerated work and studies, domestic work, care for individuals in the home, social life, active and passive leisure activities, and commuting.
Given the current socio-economic context, special mention was made in the publication of the impact the economic crisis had on the dynamics and behaviour of Basque society regarding its use of time.
The inclusion of subject areas that were not studied previously, such as eating and sleep habits, and the comparative analysis done on an international level should also be pointed out.
This report falls within the scope of collaboration of analysts from the university and Eustat, and the participation of specialists from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), the Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Madrid, and other institutions such as the Matía Foundation and DESTATIS-German Institute of Statistics.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62