Turks are friendly, social: OECD report
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 07, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Among residents of developed nations, the French spend the most time sleeping, while Turks are the most miserable, according to a new report by the OECD.
The annual report, "Society at a Glance," looks at social tendencies in 18 OECD member states that are considered the most developed economically. This year’s edition includes a wide range of information on topics such as demography and family characteristics, employment and unemployment, poverty and inequality, social and healthcare expenditures and work and life satisfaction. It provides an overview of social trends and policy developments in OECD countries using indicators taken from the organization’s studies and other sources and attempts to help people see how their societies have changed, particularly in comparison with other countries.
According the report, the French, besides spending more time sleeping than people in other member states, also devote the most time to eating Ğ nearly double that spent by Americans, Canadians or Mexicans.
Turkey is the most sociable nation, with people spending 35 percent of their leisure time entertaining friends. While Greek children reported that they beat up other kids, more Turkish children said they are beaten up. The report also reveals many other results about different countries. The Japanese, for example, sleep nearly an hour less each night than the French and spend more time at work and commuting than they do indulging in leisure activities.
A special chapter in the report investigates leisure time in the 18 countries, relying on time-use surveys from 2006 that were based on nationally representative samples of between 4,000 and 200,000 people. The surveys showed a big difference in the amount of time men and women have available for leisure.
In Italy, for example, men have nearly 80 minutes more per day for leisure than women, who apparently spend much of their additional work time cleaning house. Norway is the most equitable society in this regard, with men having only a few more minutes of leisure per day than women.
People in Turkey are not happy
Norwegians spend just over a quarter of their time on leisure, the highest percentage among the OECD countries, while Mexicans spend just 16 percent, the lowest. People in Mexico and Japan show a strong preference for watching TV, an activity enjoyed by just 25 percent of people in New Zealand.
Turkey is considered the most outgoing nation, ranking more than triple the OECD average of 11 percent. Yet the report shows that people in Turkey are not happy Ğ a finding that contradicts the results of the 2008 "Report on Life Satisfaction" prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TÜİK, in which 30.3 percent of Turks said they had a medium level of happiness, 47.5 percent said they were happy and 8.2 percent said they were very happy.
According to the OECD report, residents of member countries are not very physically active. Spain reports the highest proportion of leisure time spent doing regular physical activities, but even there, exercise accounts for a mere 13 percent of leisure time.
According the report, the French, besides spending more time sleeping than people in other member states, also devote the most time to eating Ğ nearly double that spent by Americans, Canadians or Mexicans.
Turkey is the most sociable nation, with people spending 35 percent of their leisure time entertaining friends. While Greek children reported that they beat up other kids, more Turkish children said they are beaten up. The report also reveals many other results about different countries. The Japanese, for example, sleep nearly an hour less each night than the French and spend more time at work and commuting than they do indulging in leisure activities.
A special chapter in the report investigates leisure time in the 18 countries, relying on time-use surveys from 2006 that were based on nationally representative samples of between 4,000 and 200,000 people. The surveys showed a big difference in the amount of time men and women have available for leisure.
In Italy, for example, men have nearly 80 minutes more per day for leisure than women, who apparently spend much of their additional work time cleaning house. Norway is the most equitable society in this regard, with men having only a few more minutes of leisure per day than women.
People in Turkey are not happy
Norwegians spend just over a quarter of their time on leisure, the highest percentage among the OECD countries, while Mexicans spend just 16 percent, the lowest. People in Mexico and Japan show a strong preference for watching TV, an activity enjoyed by just 25 percent of people in New Zealand.
Turkey is considered the most outgoing nation, ranking more than triple the OECD average of 11 percent. Yet the report shows that people in Turkey are not happy Ğ a finding that contradicts the results of the 2008 "Report on Life Satisfaction" prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TÜİK, in which 30.3 percent of Turks said they had a medium level of happiness, 47.5 percent said they were happy and 8.2 percent said they were very happy.
According to the OECD report, residents of member countries are not very physically active. Spain reports the highest proportion of leisure time spent doing regular physical activities, but even there, exercise accounts for a mere 13 percent of leisure time.