How Indians Spend Their Day

What India's Time Use Surveys reveal about paid work, unpaid work, leisure and gender gaps.

India conducted its first nationwide Time Use Survey in 2019, and a second in 2024.

What it measures

How people aged 6 and above spend each minute of the day on:

Paid work (employment).
Unpaid domestic services like cooking and cleaning.
Unpaid caregiving.
Learning.
Leisure, socialising and self-care.

Key findings

Women spent far more time on unpaid domestic work than men. In 2019, women participating in it spent around 5 hours a day, compared with under 2 hours for participating men.
Men spent more time on paid work.
The 2024 survey showed some increase in women’s paid work and slight changes in unpaid work, though large gaps remain.

Why it matters

GDP doesn’t count unpaid household work, even though it has large economic value.
Time use data helps design policies for childcare, water supply and cooking fuel that free women’s time.

Leisure gaps

Men typically reported more time on leisure and self-care than women.

Two schedules

A husband works 9 hours at a job and relaxes in the evening. His wife works 5 hours at a job and spends 5 more hours cooking, cleaning and caring. Only the paid hours appear in GDP.

Thinking GDP counts all work

Unpaid domestic and care work is excluded.

Key takeaways

India's Time Use Surveys were conducted in 2019 and 2024.
Women spend far more time on unpaid domestic work.
Men spend more time on paid work and leisure.
Data helps design time-saving policies.