Men in Türkiye spend more time on games and women devote more time to arts and hobbies, according to national time-use data that also shows most of the day is consumed by sleep, meals and work.

Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) "Time Use Survey” shows that individuals spend about nine hours per day sleeping. Sleep, along with eating and personal care, which takes three hours and 15 minutes and employment, at two hours and 25 minutes, accounts for the majority of a 24-hour day.

Leisure time – defined as social life, entertainment, sports, hobbies, games and media consumption – averages four hours and 34 minutes per day.

Within that leisure category, 39.5% of time is spent watching television, videos and DVDs. Social life accounts for 29%, while rest and relaxation make up 15.6%.

A gender breakdown shows notable differences in how free time is used. Women spend more time on arts and hobbies than men. Only 0.5% of men’s leisure time is devoted to arts and hobbies, compared with 2.5% for women – five times higher.

Men, however, are more likely to spend leisure time on games, including video games, computer games and board games. About 8% of men’s leisure time falls into this category, compared with 2.3% for women.

Physical activity patterns also vary by gender. Men spend 4.7% of their leisure time on exercise, compared with 3.3% for women.

Among women, employment status influences exercise habits. Employed women spend 4.7% of their leisure time exercising, compared with about 3% for unemployed women. Among men, the pattern is reversed: employed men spend 4.6% on exercise, while unemployed men spend 4.9%.

Reading habits show a similar split. Employed women dedicate 4.7% of their leisure time to reading, compared with 2.8% for unemployed women. For men, employed individuals spend 1.8% of their leisure time reading, while unemployed men spend 2%.