Time Well Spent

January 15, 2021

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How do people in different countries spend the 24 hours we are all allotted each day? A recent survey divided a day’s activities between sleep, work, eating and leisure time, and found some surprising differences. Among the countries studied, South Koreans sleep the least—averaging 7 hours and 51 minutes a day. Americans sleep an average of 8 hours and 48 minutes, while the Chinese sleep a world-leading 9 hours and 2 minutes, on average.

There are some remarkable differences in the time spent on paid work. If you factor in vacations, holidays and weekends (times when many people do no paid work at all), China’s workers average 5.25 hours per day, ahead of the Mexicans who work an average of just over 5 hours a day.

Italians, on the other end of the spectrum, take copious holidays, which brings their average paid work time spent down to just 2.5 hours averaged over the course of a year. It may not be surprising that Italians are among the world leaders in leisure time, with an average of 5.4 hours a day, just behind Norwegians and Greeks (roughly 6 hours a day). Americans, meanwhile, lead the world in the least amount of time spent eating and drinking (just over an hour a day), while the French (surprise!) spend the most time on their meals, at more than two hours a day.

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This material is distributed by Alexander Financial Planning, Inc. (AFP) and it is for information purposes only. Although information has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy. It is provided with the understanding that no fiduciary relationship exists because of this report. Opinions expressed in this report are not necessarily the opinions of AFP and they are subject to change without notice. AFP assumes no liability for the interpretation or use of this information. No portion of this writing should be construed as legal or accounting advice. Content Source: https://ourworldindata.org/time-use-living-conditions All rights reserved.

IMAGE: Jean Scheijen

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