How many hours do you work each week on average? Let’s get to know the difference in average working hours by country. On a ‘macro’ level, the relationship between employment and economic growth may be a highly debated issue among economists and policy-makers but it is also true that the former affects the latter in complex ways that just cannot be ignored.
So, regardless of nationality, gender, religion or social status, the world of work matters to everyone. However, not everyone agrees on ‘how much’ work matters. The number of hours a day a person devotes to their work differs from one country to another. To put this in another way, some countries have ‘long’ working hours while others have ‘short’ working hours. If you plan on working while studying abroad.
Difference In Average Working Hours By Country:
Think About This Example
A 2018 report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose 36 members include many of the world’s most advanced countries like the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, etc. Along with some rapidly developing and emerging nations Chile, Turkey, Mexico, etc, found that in terms of hours worked, in 2017 Mexico had the longest workdays, while Germany had the shortest.
But what do the words ‘long’ and ‘short’ really mean? The only way to understand the meaning of ‘long’ versus ‘short’ is to remember that these definitions are relative. In other words, a 40-45 hour (or even more) workweek may be considered ‘short’ in one country but it may be frowned upon and considered too ‘long’ in another country. According to long and short hours of work, let’s see the difference in average working hours by country
What are Normal Working Hours Around the World?
Countries With The Longest Work Hours
The longest and shortest working hours in the world give us a better view of the culture in different countries. Going by this definition of ‘average working hours’ annually, in terms of hours/worker/year.
In 2017, the average Mexican spent a little over 2257 hours at work per year. This is the equivalent of over 43 hours per week (assuming he works all 52 weeks of the year).
In contrast, the average German spent only 1356 hours at work in a year, an equivalent of a 26-hour workweek.
In 2017, the OECD annual average was 1744 hours per worker. This equates to 33.5 hours/worker/week.
Differences In Average Working Hours Around the World:
| Country | Hours/worker | Hours/worker/week(52 weeks per year) |
| Mexico | 2257 | 43 |
| Costa Rica | 2179 | 42 |
| South Korea | 2024 | 39 |
| Russia | 1980 | 38 |
| Chile | 1954 | 37.5 |
| Greece | 1906 | 36.6 |
| Israel | 1885 | 36.25 |
| Turkey | 1832 | 35 |
| Estonia | 1813 | 34.8 |
| Poland | 1812 | 34.8 |
| USA | 1780 | 34 |
| Czech Republic | 1776 | 34 |
| New Zealand | 1753 | 33.7 |
| OECD AVERAGE | 1744 | 33.5 |
In Europe, Greeks put in the most hours at work, but their work weeks are still almost 7 hours, roughly a full workday, shorter than the workweeks of Mexican workers.
Workers in the Czech Republic and New Zealand enjoy shorter workweeks than 11 other countries in the OECD, but they still work slightly longer than the OECD average of 33.5 hours/week.
You Might Also Want To Read: Australian Work Permits And Visas: The Detailed Guide
Countries With The Shortest Work Hours
In the OECD, only the 13 countries seen above have longer working hours than the OECD average. The remaining 24 countries, however, enjoy shorter working hours with the average annual hours worked per worker capped at approximately 1,740 hours or less.
The Difference In Average Work Week By Country:
| Country | Hours/worker | Hours/worker/week(52 weeks per year) |
| Hungary | 1740.4 | 33 |
| Ireland | 1738 | 33 |
| Italy | 1723 | 33 |
| Portugal | 1718 | 33 |
| Slovak Republic | 1714 | 33 |
| Japan | 1710 | 33 |
| Canada | 1695 | 33 |
| Latvia | 1690 | 33 |
| Spain | 1687 | 32 |
| Australia | 1676 | 32 |
| Slovenia | 1655 | 32 |
| Lithuania | 1607 | 31 |
| Switzerland | 1570 | 30 |
| Belgium | 1531 | 29 |
| Finland | 1531 | 29 |
| Luxembourg | 1518 | 29 |
| UK | 1514 | 29 |
| France | 1514 | 29 |
| Austria | 1487 | 29 |
| Iceland | 1461 | 28 |
| Sweden | 1453 | 28 |
| Netherlands | 1433 | 28 |
| Norway | 1419 | 27 |
| Denmark | 1408 | 27 |
| Germany | 1356 | 26 |
In an average work year, German workers put in a whopping 901 hours (the equivalent of 17 weeks) less than their counterparts in Mexico. Like Germany, workers in the Netherlands and 4 of the highly-developed Nordic countries of Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden also enjoy short workweeks of 27-28 hours.
Take control of your dreams, get the best accommodation by clicking on the banners!
Difference In Average Working Hours By Country:
How OECD Calculates Work Hours
According to the OECD, the number of hours worked per person in a given country is defined by the following formula:
Average annual hours worked = Total number of hours work week worked per year
(Hours per worker per year) The average number of people in employment per year
This definition determines which countries have long working hours and which ones have shorter working hours. This is also how OECD determined that Mexico had the longest work days among all the countries in the OECD group in 2017.
The OECD data covers both employed and self-employed workers:
- What Makes Up Annual Working Hours:
- Regular work hours of full-time, part-time and part-year workers
- Paid and unpaid overtime
- Additional hours worked on the job
- What Doesn’t:
- Public holidays, strikes, labour disputes or bad weather
- Annual paid leave
- Time off due to illness, injury or temporary disability
- Maternity leave
- Parental leave
- Sabbaticals for schooling or additional training
- Slack work for technical or economic reasons
- Compensation leave, etc
If you plan on working after you’re done with university, remember to keep these points in mind. You could shift to another country for less working hours!
FAQ
1) Which country works the most hours?
Mexico recorded the most work hours in 2021. It is the nation with the highest yearly average number of hours worked (2,148), making it the most overworked. In Mexico, a full-time employee works an average of 48.5 hours a week.
2) Which country works the least hours?
People in Germany work the least number of hours. In 2021, the average person in Germany worked just 1356 hours per year or 26 hours per week.
3) How many hours do most countries work?
On average people in most countries work between 40-44 hours a week, and as of 2022 people worked 1,820 hours a year.
4) Which country is the most workaholic?
Japanese professionals worked an average of 136.1 hours per month in 2021, making it the most workaholic country in the world according to Statista, followed by India. India holds the distinction of being the most workaholic nation in Asia.
PS: If there’s anything more you’d like us to know about. Add it to the comments section!
We hope you enjoyed reading this blog on ‘Get To Know Difference In Average Working Hours By Country’. Do check out our other blogs.
1 thought on “Top PGDM Courses In Canada: Universities, Specialisations & Eligibility”
I have done Bachelor’s in Culinary Arts from India and completed my graduation in the year 2022 .I am 22 years old. After graduation, I have done 1 year paid internship from USA .Now, I would like to take occupational experience and learn culinary skills and also do masters in Culinary arts.How can I find the college n best course / country where I can persue studying further