A new study published in Population and Development Review in June upends some popular perceptions about caregiving. Emilio Zagheni, PhD, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington, and Denys Dukhovnov, a research associate at the City University of New York Institute for Demographic Research, analyzed three years of data from the American Time Use Survey, which asks people how much time they spent on various activities the previous day.

The researchers reviewed responses from roughly 36,000 Americans, broke them down into five-year age groups for caregivers and recipients, and then created charts showing who gave and received care in each group. They used those results to estimate figures for the US population as a whole.

Here's a breakdown of some of the findings:

1.2 BILLION: The number of unpaid hours of caregiving provided weekly in the United States.

$691 BILLION: The estimated value of that care.

4.3 PERCENT: Percentage of US gross domestic product represented by caregiving.

30.5 MILLION: The number of full-time care aides who would be needed to provide that care without unpaid caregivers.

20 PERCENT: The proportion of caregiving provided to people 80 years and older by people of the same age.

30: The approximate age at which average daily caregiving hours peak (at about 3 hours per day).

77: The approximate age at which the average hours spent receiving care becomes more than the average hours spent giving care.

1.5: The number of daily hours of caregiving typically received by elderly people.

6: The number of daily hours of caregiving typically received by young children.

137: Average minutes of unpaid caregiving provided daily by women.

110: Average minutes of unpaid caregiving provided daily by men.