Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS)

The Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) was first developed in the early 1980s. Professor Jonathan Gershuny, then working at the University of Bath with Sally Jones, observed the potential to harmonise time use datasets collected in the early 1960s through the mid 1980s into a single dataset with common series of background variables and total time spent per day in 41 activities. The original MTUS allowed comparison of British time use data with the 1965 Szalai Multinational Time Budget Study and data from Canada and Denmark. The MTUS since has grown to encompass over 60 datasets from 22 countries, and is now incorporating recent data from the HETUS, ATUS, and other national level time use projects. Professor Gershuny and Dr Kimberly Fisher presently manage the study in collaboration with other time use scholars.

This site provides access to the MTUS data and documentation, and offers advice on the use of this dataset

With the January 2010 release:

• We have added the variable CDAY to the Netherlands 2000 data
• We have upgraded:
  • Austria 1992 from W552 to W553 W58 and W60
  • Spain 2002-2003 from W553 only to W553 and W58
  • USA 1985 from W552 to W553 W58 and W60
  • USA 1992-94 from W552 to W553 W58 and W60
  • USA 2003 from W552 to W553, W58 and W6
• We have added the:
  • USA 1985 child diaries which previously have had very limited use and do not appear in most other available versions of this survey
  • USA 1994-95 NHAPS supplement
  • USA 2004 ATUS
  • Netherlands 2005

At present we are working on upgrading the Norwegian surveys, the remaining older Netherlands, UK and USA surveys, South Africa 2000, and adding the remainder of the USA ATUS (2005-2009).