The Share of 'Voluntary and Charitable Activities' in a Day of Iranians: Two Minutes

How do Iranians spend their day and night? Answering this question is not difficult with the release of a report from the Statistical Center of Iran regarding time use surveys conducted in urban areas of Iran last autumn. According to the results of this statistical report, examining the time use patterns of Iranians aged 15 and older indicates that Iranians spend more time than anything else on 'personal care and maintenance.' Based on the results of this survey, Iranians aged 15 and older in urban areas last autumn dedicated an average of 13 hours and 12 minutes to personal care and maintenance. This time was nearly equal between men and women. Following this activity, the next highest average time spent daily was on household activities, which accounted for three hours and 18 minutes, with women averaging 5 hours and 23 minutes and men averaging one hour and seven minutes on household tasks. The report specifies that Iranians aged 15 and older living in urban areas last autumn allocated the least time to 'voluntary and charitable activities.' According to the survey results, the average time Iranians dedicated to 'voluntary and charitable activities' was only two minutes. Following that, the least time was allocated to 'recreational and cultural activities,' with Iranians spending an average of only 9 minutes on these matters last autumn. Men averaged 11 minutes and women averaged 7 minutes of their daily hours on recreational and cultural activities. Among men, after personal care and maintenance, the next highest average time spent daily was on work and occupational activities with five hours and 12 minutes, media consumption with two hours and two minutes, and educational activities with 58 minutes. This order differs for women; after personal care and maintenance, the highest average time spent by women was on household activities with five hours and 23 minutes, media consumption with two hours and four minutes, and community participation activities with one hour and six minutes. This report indirectly reflects the lifestyle of Iranians, and comparing it with other countries can illustrate differences in lifestyles or national temperaments. For example, a similar study in South Africa conducted in 2001 indicated that people in that country also spend an average of 12 hours and 10 minutes of their daily time on personal care and maintenance. However, the next highest activity among South Africans was social and cultural activities, averaging three hours and 24 minutes. The second most common daily activity for Iranians last autumn was household tasks. Media consumption was the third most popular activity among South Africans, who dedicated an average of one hour and 48 minutes to it. According to a similar study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2011 regarding its member countries, on average, member countries spend eight hours on work and occupational activities. In Mongolia, the average time dedicated to work is 10.5 hours, with women spending 11 hours and Mongolian men averaging 10 hours on work and occupational activities. People from Cambodia and Armenia allocated an average of six and a half hours to work, the least among OECD member countries. The average time dedicated to non-profit and charitable activities among OECD member countries in 2011 was three and a half hours. Kazakhs, dedicating five hours, and Cambodians, dedicating an average of one hour to non-profit activities, topped and bottomed the list of OECD member countries regarding non-profit engagement. Overall, people in OECD member countries also dedicate the most of their free time in a day—eight hours—to personal care and maintenance activities.