Lower incomes less active in their leisure time

People in the lower income brackets are less active in their leisure time than people in higher income categories. They also tend to be less active in volunteer work and rarely visit museums. Their contacts with friends and acquaintances are also less frequent.

Fewer volunteer workers in lower income brackets

In 2008, one in three people in the lowest income brackets indicated they had been active as volunteers in the previous year. The rate among more well-to-do people was obviously higher, but across the various income categories, the number of people providing informal help and care was approximately the same.  

Volunteer work by income bracket, 2008*

Museum visits less popular among lower incomes

The gap between highest and lowest incomes was most obvious in the respective museum visit rates. Only a quarter of low incomes visited a museum in 2008, as against half of high incomes. Low incomes were also less active when it comes to sports and club activities.

Recreational and cultural activities by income bracket, 2008*

Lower incomes see their friends less frequently

Contacts with friends are also less frequent among people living on lower incomes. In 2008, for example, nine in ten people in the lower income brackets contacted friends or acquaintances at least once a month. Nearly three quarters had contacts with friends or acquaintances on a weekly basis. The corresponding figures for the higher incomes were 98 and 78 percent respectively.

There appeared to be no difference in contacts with relatives between the various income categories.

Contacts with friends and good acquaintances by income bracket, 2008*

Linda Moonen