EU countries by average weekly hours worked

Greece had the highest average weekly hours worked of 27 EU countries in 2017, at 40.6 hours per week. The Netherlands had the lowest, at 31.7 hours per week. The median was 37.6 hours per week. Source: International Labour Organization.

Highest40.6Greece

Lowest31.7Netherlands

Median37.627 EU countries

All EU countries, 2017

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

Rank	EU countries	2017 hours per week	Change on 2016
1	Greece	40.6	-0.5%
2	Bulgaria	40	-0.7%
3	Poland	39.4	-1%
4	Romania	38.8	+0.1%
5	Czechia	38.8	-0.9%
6	Croatia	38.7	+1%
7	Latvia	38.5	+0.2%
8	Hungary	38.4	-1%
9	Slovakia	38.3	-1%
10	Estonia	38.2	+0.5%
11	Cyprus	38.1	+0.5%
12	Portugal	37.9	+0.1%
13	Lithuania	37.7	-1.4%
14	Slovenia	37.6	-2.4%
15	Malta	37.5	-1.2%
16	Luxembourg	37.3	-0.5%
17	Spain	36.9	-0.5%
18	Belgium	36.7	+0.1%
19	Italy	36.5	+0.2%
20	France	36	-0.3%
21	Ireland	35.8	+1.2%
22	Finland	35.4	-0.8%
23	Sweden	35.2	-0.6%
24	Austria	34.9	-0.5%
25	Germany	34.9	-0.8%
26	Denmark	34	0%
27	Netherlands	31.7	-0.1%

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.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

International Labour Organization. (2026). Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB) (EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO

MLA 9

Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB), EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017. International Labour Organization, 11 Oct. 2026, https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

International Labour Organization. 2026. Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB). EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017.

Harvard

International Labour Organization (2026) Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB), EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{international_eu_countries_by_average_2017,
  author = {{International Labour Organization}},
  title = {{Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF\_HOW\_TEMP\_SEX\_NB): EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - International Labour Organization
TI  - Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person by sex, total, annual (DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB): EU countries by average weekly hours worked, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - International Labour Organization
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.ilo.org/vis?df%5Bds%5D=ds-production&df%5Bid%5D=DF_HOW_TEMP_SEX_NB&df%5Bag%5D=ILO
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-hours-worked/eu-countries?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest average weekly hours worked?

Greece, with 40.6 hours per week in 2017, according to International Labour Organization.

Which EU country has the lowest average weekly hours worked?

The Netherlands, with 31.7 hours per week in 2017.

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

Countries