Work, home or rest? Guatemala measures how people spend their time for the first time

For the first time, Guatemala is measuring how its people use the 24 hours of each day. The National Statistics Institute, known as INE, began collecting information for a nationwide time-use survey on Friday.

The study will examine how people aged 12 and older divide their days among work, education, sleep, travel, household tasks, rest and physical activity. INE manager Óscar Chávez conducted the survey’s first interview at one of the selected homes during the launch event.

Data collection will continue during September, October and November in all 22 departments. The survey also aims to show how much time people devote to unpaid work and how different occupations are distributed among population groups. It will record indicators on physical activity and the amount of time people spend sitting during their working day.

The sample includes 11,200 homes chosen through a probabilistic, stratified cluster design. Chávez said every home in the country has the same chance of being selected, allowing the results to represent both urban and rural areas as well as all departments.

“It's a survey being carried out specifically in Guatemala for the first time, although it is already conducted regionally in different countries. So, in a certain way, we are catching up,” Chávez said. He described the survey as a historic debt to the country because it will produce broad, specific information that has not previously been collected. INE expects results in six to seven months.

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It's a survey being carried out specifically in Guatemala for the first time, although it is already conducted regionally in different countries. So, in a certain way, we are catching up.