Society at a Glance 2009: OECD Social Indicators

This is the fifth edition of Society at a Glance, the biennial OECD compendium of social indicators. The publication gives an overview of social trends and policy developments in OECD countries using indicators taken from OECD studies and other sources. It attempts to help people see how their societies have changed, particularly in comparison with other countries. Indicators describing four main dimensions are covered (self-sufficiency, equity, health and social cohesion).

The 2009 report also contains a special chapter on leisure time across the OECD for which up-to-date time-use surveys are available. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people's well-being for the direct satisfaction it brings. The report reveals big differences in the amount of time men and women have for leisure. Italian men have nearly 80 minutes a day of leisure more than women. Much of the additional work of Italian women is apparently spent cleaning the house. Norway is the most equal society, with men having only a few more minutes of leisure than women.  Norwegians spend just over a quarter of their time on leisure, the highest among OECD countries, while Mexicans spend just 16%, the lowest.

So what are we doing with our leisure time? Watching TV absorbs nearly half of all leisure time in Mexico and Japan and falls to a low of 25% in New Zealand. Turkey is the most sociable nation, spending 35% of leisure time entertaining friends which is  more than triple the OECD average of 11%. But OECD countries are not very physically active: Spain reports the highest proportion of leisure time spent doing regular physical activities. Even there, exercise accounts for a mere 13% of leisure time. Other social indicators covered in Society at a Glance include adult height, fertility rates, education spending, income inequality, obesity, healthcare spending and life and work satisfaction.

Data and indicators can be downloaded from the OECD website

The full publication is available to current London Business School staff, students and faculty from SourceOECD available from the A-Z list of library databases via Portal.

Picture from Creative Commons: Flickr: eekim