This new edition is a reprint of the hardback book, first published in 2005. As the pace of life increases and the effects of globalisation invade more and more areas of everyday life, free time becomes an increasingly precious resource. For those who are experiencing a shortage of free time - a 'time-squeeze' - and for the growing numbers looking forward to abundant free time in retirement, leisure has never been more vital for ensuring individual and social health and wellbeing and the enhancement of social capital and the quality of lifeThis book is an expanded and updated edition of a previous work entitled World Leisure Participation: Free Time in the Global Village, by the same editors (CABI, 1996). It brings together the results of the most recent national leisure participation surveys from 15 countries, including three countries not previously covered. The book also includes increased coverage of time-budget surveys and new themes such as public policy dimensions. It also examines the methodological problems and challenges of conducting national surveys in the field, and their future prospects.