Average Work Hours Per Week For Every Country | Buildremote (original) (raw)

Measuring working hours is hard to do across a company, let alone all of the countries of the world. But the OECD collects the average annual hours worked for each country by taking the total number of hours actually worked per year divided by the average number of people in employment per year.

That is the best dataset available for working hours. To get to average working hours per week by country, I divided the annual hours by 52 weeks.

Here are a few notes to keep in mind

The average you see for each country includes hours for full-time, part-time, and self-employed people, so it should not be used as the average full-time work week. For example, if half the country worked 40 hours per week as full-time employees and half worked 20 as part-time employees, the weekly average would show 30 (even though the standard full-time work week is 40 for that country). (Go to these articles if you are looking for how many work hours, work days, or work weeks there are in a year or this one for 2023 specifically for a standard work week.)

In addition, this data is “actual hours worked” so it does not account for time off (holidays, vacation days, leaves, etc.). For example, if someone worked 2,000 hours in a year, we would show the average week as 38.5 (2,000 divided by 52 weeks). If that person actually took four weeks of time off, their typical work week would actually be 41.7 (2,000 divided by 48 weeks) with four weeks off.

Therefore, the data should be used as a guide for working hours per week across the whole working population, not just the full-time workers. Use the links below to jump to a section that interests you the most:

• Every country
• Part-time versus full time
• 20 biggest economies
• 20 longest work weeks
• 20 shortest work weeks
• Data sources & descriptions
• Unique work week templates
• Calculate your own work hours, days, or weeks

Here are the average work hours per week for every country.

See Also: How Many Work Days Are In A Year?

What Is Considered Full-Time Vs. Part Time In 50 Countries

Below, you’ll find how many hours per week are considered part-time and full-time for the 50 biggest economies in the world. The table is ranked by GDP (biggest economies in the world at the top).

The figures you see are general guidelines about work hours, not labor laws for each country. For example, many countries do not have guidance for the number of hours that determines a part-time employee. Other countries do not provide laws or guidance about part-time work, but it is generally accepted that anything less than full-time could be considered part-time. If you are trying to legally operate within one of these countries, make sure to search the appropriate government websites in each country or talk to a local employment lawyer.

Please note: Buildremote has provided this information as general guidance for what’s considered the normal full-time and part-time work week in each country. Do not treat these numbers as legal advice. If you are looking to better understand the labor laws in each country, search the appropriate government websites in each country.

20 Biggest Economies

See Also: California’s 4-Day Work Week Bill: What Happened To It?

20 Longest Average Work Weeks

20 Shortest Average Work Weeks

Data Sources & Description

2021 GDP

Values are based in billions and US Dollars. “Values are based upon GDP in national currency converted to U.S. dollars using market exchange rates (yearly average). Expenditure-based GDP is total final expenditures at purchasers’ prices (including the f.o.b. value of exports of goods and services), less the f.o.b. value of imports of goods and services.” (Source: IMF)

Annual Work Hours

This indicator is measured in terms of hours per worker per year and is from 2020 (or the latest year on record for the country). “Average annual hours worked is defined as the total number of hours actually worked per year divided by the average number of people in employment per year. Actual hours worked include regular work hours of full-time, part-time and part-year workers, paid and unpaid overtime, hours worked in additional jobs, and exclude time not worked because of public holidays, annual paid leave, own illness, injury and temporary disability, maternity leave, parental leave, schooling or training, slack work for technical or economic reasons, strike or labour dispute, bad weather, compensation leave and other reasons.” (Source: OECD (2022), Hours worked (indicator). doi: 10.1787/47be1c78-en (Accessed on 19 May 2022))

Average Per Week

This is the annual work hours (provided by OECD data) divided by 52. Keep in mind: this figure includes all types of workers and work, so it is not the average full-time work week for that country.

• How many work hours are in a year?
• How many days are in a year?
• How many work weeks are in a year?

Unique Work Week Templates

In 1926, Henry Ford popularized the 40-hour work week for Ford assembly plants. Ever since then, the 40-hour, five-day work week has persisted as the standard full-time week for employees.

But the world has changed in the last 100 years. Eight-hour shifts for five days per week may not be the best for your work or your company.