The table illustrates the proportion of mature people who took part in four distinct leisure time activities in metropolitan regions and countryside areas between 1990 and 2010.
Overall, reading was by far the most popular spare time activity, with the highest participation in every area and year. In addition, the percentages of reading and playing experienced only upward trends, whereas the reverse was true for those of photography and animated play.
In 1990, reading was the most participated free time activity, with 61% and 71% of urban and rural residents respectively, followed by playing with 21% of participants in urban and 26% in rural areas. 10% of adults in cities and 18% of countryside residents took part in animated play-based amusements, while photography pursuits showed the lowest rate of participation in 1990, with only 7% and 14% of seniors attending from urban and rural areas respectively.
In 2010, the proportion of elder people who were involved in reading increased from 61% to 71% in towns and from 71% to 78% in farmland areas, making it equally involved. The proportion of adults in urban areas who engaged in animated playing remained stable at 10%, while the percentage of countryside adults underwent a slight decrease of 4% from 18% to 14%. Playing in urban areas decreased from 21% to 14%, whereas the figure for rural areas remained unchanged at 26%. Finally, photography experienced a considerable increase in both areas, rising from 7% to 17% among urban adults and from 14% to 24% among rural adults.