Data / Rankings / Average weekly hours worked / EU countries

EU countries by average weekly hours worked

Greece had the highest average weekly hours worked of 27 EU countries in 2015, at 40.6 hours per week. The Netherlands had the lowest, at 31.4 hours per week. The median was 37.7 hours per week. Source: International Labour Organization.

Highest40.6Greece
Lowest31.4Netherlands
Median37.727 EU countries

All EU countries, 2015

Greece: 40.6 hours per weekGreece40.6Bulgaria: 40.2 hours per weekBulgaria40.2Poland: 39.6 hours per weekPoland39.6Czechia: 38.9 hours per weekCzechia38.9Slovakia: 38.8 hours per weekSlovakia38.8Slovenia: 38.6 hours per weekSlovenia38.6Romania: 38.5 hours per weekRomania38.5Latvia: 38.3 hours per weekLatvia38.3Hungary: 38.3 hours per weekHungary38.3Portugal: 38.2 hours per weekPortugal38.2Croatia: 38.1 hours per weekCroatia38.1Lithuania: 38.1 hours per weekLithuania38.1Luxembourg: 37.9 hours per weekLuxembourg37.9Estonia: 37.7 hours per weekEstonia37.7Cyprus: 37.7 hours per weekCyprus37.7Malta: 37.3 hours per weekMalta37.3Spain: 37.1 hours per weekSpain37.1Belgium: 36.7 hours per weekBelgium36.7Italy: 36.3 hours per weekItaly36.3France: 35.9 hours per weekFrance35.9Finland: 35.4 hours per weekFinland35.4Germany: 35.1 hours per weekGermany35.1Ireland: 35.1 hours per weekIreland35.1Austria: 35.1 hours per weekAustria35.1Sweden: 35 hours per weekSweden35Denmark: 34.4 hours per weekDenmark34.4Netherlands: 31.4 hours per weekNetherlands31.4
hours per week. Source: ILOSTAT, Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2015
hours per week		Change on 2014
1Greece40.60%
2Bulgaria40.2+0.4%
3Poland39.6+0.3%
4Czechia38.9-0.5%
5Slovakia38.8-0.3%
6Slovenia38.6+0.4%
7Romania38.5-1.1%
8Latvia38.3-0.6%
9Hungary38.3+0.2%
10Portugal38.2+0.3%
11Croatia38.1-2.4%
12Lithuania38.1+0.3%
13Luxembourg37.9-0.1%
14Estonia37.7-0.5%
15Cyprus37.70%
16Malta37.3+0.9%
17Spain37.1-0.5%
18Belgium36.7+0.1%
19Italy36.3+0.3%
20France35.9+0.2%
21Finland35.4+0.1%
22Germany35.1-0.4%
22Ireland35.1-0%
24Austria35.1-1%
25Sweden35-0.2%
26Denmark34.4-0%
27Netherlands31.4-0.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of hours actually worked per week in the main job by employed people, full-time and part-time together, from labour force and household surveys compiled by the ILO (13th ICLS definitions). Hours actually worked include overtime and exclude paid leave.

Main job only, so people with second jobs work more than shown. Countries with many part-time workers show lower averages. The ILO's modelled estimates are not served. The ILO recalculates national survey data to its international definitions, so values can differ from the figures national offices publish, and it revises past years.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT. Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB). https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO (Accessed on 2026-10-12). Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest average weekly hours worked?

Greece, with 40.6 hours per week in 2015, according to International Labour Organization.

Which EU country has the lowest average weekly hours worked?

The Netherlands, with 31.4 hours per week in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: International Labour Organization, Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Average weekly hours worked: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings