French spend the most time sleeping and eating

The French spend more time eating and sleeping than any other developed nation, according to a recent study conducted by the OECD.

In Society at a Glance (2009), the OECD revealed that the average French person spends 135 minutes a day eating and 530 minutes a day asleep. The same study revealed that the French women had the longest life expectancy of all 30 OECD countries, save Japan, living 84.4 years on average, while a Frenchman’s life expectancy is second only to Switzerland and Iceland.

France also topped the chart when it comes to fertility, it has the highest fertility rate in Europe and OECD., while public spending on childcare programmes is third highest. French women are having children later in life, the average age at which women have their first child is now 28�.

France was one of five OECD countries where income inequality and poverty has fallen between the mid-1980s and mid-2000s, perhaps in part due to the fact that France is the OECD’s biggest spender on social protection, accounting for one-third of national income, compared to an OECD average of 24%.