The charts illustrate changes in household ownership of electrical appliances and the number of hours spent on housework per week in one country between 1920 and 2019.
Overall, the use of household appliances increased substantially over the period, while the amount of time spent doing housework declined dramatically. Refrigerators and vacuum cleaners experienced the most significant rises in ownership, whereas washing machines showed a more moderate upward trend. Correspondingly, housework hours fell by more than two-thirds.
In 1920, only a small proportion of households owned modern appliances. Around 40% had a washing machine, while refrigerator and vacuum cleaner ownership stood at approximately 0% and 30% respectively. From this point, refrigerator use rose rapidly, reaching 90% by 1960 and achieving full saturation at 100% from 1980 onwards. Vacuum cleaners also saw steady growth, climbing to nearly 70% in 1960 and peaking at around 75% by 2019.
Washing machine ownership increased more gradually. It rose from 40% in 1920 to roughly 70% in 1960, then levelled off before reaching about 75% by 2019, showing far less dramatic growth compared with the other appliances.
In contrast to appliance ownership, the number of hours of housework per household fell consistently. Households spent about 50 hours per week on chores in 1920, but this figure had halved by 1960 and dropped further to approximately 15 hours by 2019. This substantial decline mirrors the rapid adoption of labour-saving domestic technologies.