BEIJING, March 20 -- China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) will carry out a nationwide survey on time use by local residents in an effort to gather information about the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as those that align with basic needs, paid or unpaid work, and others carried out based on individuals' free will.

In a statement, the NBS said that the survey was a common practice around the world, and it can be used to assess people's life quality, measure the contribution of unpaid work to economic development, and analyze the impact of policies related to people's livelihood and well-being.

The NBS said that the main purpose of the survey, to be carried out from May 11 to 31 this year, is to comprehensively understand how residents in the world's second-largest economy use their time and find out more about people's life quality and lifestyle changes so that government policies affecting people's livelihood and well-being can be formulated scientifically.

China carried out two similar surveys in 2008 and 2018, respectively. Compared to the previous surveys, the scope of the third survey will expand nationwide while survey respondents will cover residents above the age of 6.

The survey categories will also be expanded to 34 to better reflect the situations and expectations of residents in areas such as work, studies, life, mobility, elderly care, seeing doctors, and cultural and entertainment.