EU countries by average weekly hours worked

Greece had the highest average weekly hours worked of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 39.8 hours per week. The Netherlands had the lowest, at 30.4 hours per week. The median was 37.1 hours per week. Source: International Labour Organization.

Highest39.8Greece
Lowest30.4Netherlands
Median37.127 EU countries

All EU countries, 2023

Greece: 39.8 hours per weekGreece39.8Romania: 39.4 hours per weekRomania39.4Poland: 39.1 hours per weekPoland39.1Bulgaria: 39 hours per weekBulgaria39Cyprus: 38.2 hours per weekCyprus38.2Lithuania: 38 hours per weekLithuania38Czechia: 37.9 hours per weekCzechia37.9Croatia: 37.9 hours per weekCroatia37.9Latvia: 37.8 hours per weekLatvia37.8Portugal: 37.8 hours per weekPortugal37.8Slovenia: 37.7 hours per weekSlovenia37.7Hungary: 37.6 hours per weekHungary37.6Slovakia: 37.5 hours per weekSlovakia37.5Malta: 37.1 hours per weekMalta37.1Spain: 36.2 hours per weekSpain36.2Italy: 36 hours per weekItaly36Estonia: 35.9 hours per weekEstonia35.9France: 35.7 hours per weekFrance35.7Belgium: 35.2 hours per weekBelgium35.2Luxembourg: 35.1 hours per weekLuxembourg35.1Sweden: 34.5 hours per weekSweden34.5Ireland: 34.2 hours per weekIreland34.2Finland: 33.7 hours per weekFinland33.7Germany: 33.5 hours per weekGermany33.5Austria: 33.2 hours per weekAustria33.2Denmark: 32.9 hours per weekDenmark32.9Netherlands: 30.4 hours per weekNetherlands30.4
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 countries2023
hours per week
Change on 2022
1Greece39.8+0.3%
2Romania39.4-0.6%
3Poland39.1-0.5%
4Bulgaria39-0.5%
5Cyprus38.2+1.5%
6Lithuania38+0.1%
7Czechia37.9+0.6%
8Croatia37.9+0.3%
9Latvia37.8-1%
10Portugal37.8-0.8%
11Slovenia37.7-1%
12Hungary37.6-1.8%
13Slovakia37.5-0.5%
14Malta37.1+1.1%
15Spain36.2-0.4%
16Italy36-0.4%
17Estonia35.9-1%
18France35.7-0.7%
19Belgium35.2-0.8%
20Luxembourg35.1-0.2%
21Sweden34.5-0.8%
22Ireland34.2-3.7%
23Finland33.7-0.1%
24Germany33.5-1.4%
25Austria33.2-0.5%
26Denmark32.9-1%
27Netherlands30.4-0.7%

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 39.8 hours per week in 2023, according to International Labour Organization.

Which EU country has the lowest average weekly hours worked?

The Netherlands, with 30.4 hours per week in 2023.

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