Work-life balance in the OECD, 2025: where people work the fewest hours
Published
Workers in Germany put in 1,332 hours on average in 2025, the lowest figure among OECD members, against 1,736 across the OECD. In Mexico and Türkiye, close to one employee in four usually works 50 hours or more a week; in the Netherlands it is 1.8%. Here is the data for 38 OECD members.
How many hours people work matters for daily life, not only salary. The OECD publishes two measures that help answer the question, and they do not say the same thing.
- Annual hours actually worked per worker. Total hours worked in a year divided by the average number of people in employment. It counts part-time and full-time workers, so a country with many part-time jobs tends to show a lower figure.
- Long hours in paid work. The percentage of employees who usually work 50 hours or more a week, from the OECD's How's Life? well-being database.
Both figures are for 2025, except annual hours in Colombia, which are for 2024. The table covers the 38 OECD members: Türkiye has no annual hours figure, and Japan and Korea have no figure for long hours. We do not combine the two measures into a score.
A warning from the OECD
The OECD states that its annual hours data "are intended for comparisons of trends over time" and are unsuitable for comparing levels between countries in a given year, because national sources differ. Read the ranking below as a broad picture, not as a precise league table. Small gaps between neighbours mean little.
The table
| Rank | Country | Annual hours per worker, 2025 | Employees working 50+ hours a week, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 1,332 | 2.8% |
| 2 | Denmark | 1,369 | 2.4% |
| 3 | Norway | 1,386 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Iceland | 1,421 | 9.5% |
| 4 | Sweden | 1,421 | 4.9% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 1,436 | 1.8% |
| 7 | Austria | 1,442 | 4.0% |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 1,459 | 5.1% |
| 9 | Finland | 1,492 | 2.6% |
| 10 | France | 1,498 | 5.9% |
| 11 | Switzerland | 1,512 | 5.0% |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 1,533 | 9.1% |
| 13 | Belgium | 1,586 | 3.8% |
| 14 | Latvia | 1,588 | 0.7% |
| 15 | Japan | 1,598 | no data |
| 16 | Slovenia | 1,599 | 2.0% |
| 17 | Estonia | 1,610 | 1.6% |
| 18 | Slovakia | 1,619 | 2.7% |
| 19 | Australia | 1,633 | 9.7% |
| 19 | Spain | 1,633 | 2.2% |
| 21 | Ireland | 1,639 | 3.9% |
| 22 | Hungary | 1,671 | 1.5% |
| 23 | Lithuania | 1,673 | 0.9% |
| 24 | Canada | 1,687 | 3.1% |
| 25 | Italy | 1,716 | 2.7% |
| 26 | New Zealand | 1,723 | 11.1% |
| 27 | Portugal | 1,764 | 6.5% |
| 28 | Poland | 1,776 | 2.8% |
| 29 | United States | 1,800 | 8.9% |
| 30 | Czechia | 1,824 | 2.9% |
| 31 | Korea | 1,833 | no data |
| 32 | Israel | 1,870 | 10.4% |
| 33 | Greece | 1,874 | 3.1% |
| 34 | Chile | 1,912 | 4.7% |
| 35 | Costa Rica | 2,183 | 12.9% |
| 36 | Mexico | 2,205 | 24.7% |
| 37 | Colombia | 2,219 (2024) | 17.4% |
| Türkiye | no data | 23.4% | |
| OECD | 1,736 |
Where people work the fewest hours
Germany, Denmark and Norway have the lowest annual hours, all below 1,400. Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands and Austria follow, below 1,450. Because the figure covers part-time as well as full-time workers, a low annual average does not mean a full-time job there is short.
The Netherlands is low on both measures: 1,436 hours a year and 1.8% of employees working 50 hours or more a week.
Where long weeks are common
The second column tells a different story. Mexico (24.7%) and Türkiye (23.4%) have the highest shares of employees with very long weeks, followed by Colombia (17.4%) and Costa Rica (12.9%).
Annual averages can also hide long weeks. In New Zealand (11.1%), Israel (10.4%), Australia (9.7%), Iceland (9.5%), the United Kingdom (9.1%) and the United States (8.9%), around one employee in ten usually works 50 hours or more. Iceland has some of the lowest annual hours in the table and one of the higher shares of very long weeks at the same time.
Short weeks, long years
The reverse also happens. Latvia (0.7%), Lithuania (0.9%), Hungary (1.5%) and Estonia (1.6%) have some of the lowest shares of very long weeks, but annual hours between 1,588 and 1,673. In Czechia and Poland, fewer than 3% of employees work 50 hours or more, while annual hours are above 1,770. Few extreme weeks do not mean a short working year.
The trend
Because the OECD designed the annual series for comparisons over time, the trend is the safer reading. The OECD figure fell from 1,749 hours in 2022 to 1,736 in 2025.
What the figures do not show
- Your own job. National averages mix sectors, part-time and full-time work. Hours in your field can differ a lot.
- Workers versus employees. Annual hours cover everyone in employment, including the self-employed. The long-hours share covers employees only.
- Holidays and leave. The data do not show how much paid leave workers get.
How to use these figures
- Read both columns. A low annual average with a high long-hours share can point to a split labour market.
- Check the contract, not the country. Ask about usual weekly hours and overtime before you accept an offer.
- Look at family time too. Our article on the best countries to move to with a family uses the long-hours measure alongside safety, schools and healthcare.
Country profiles: Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Mexico, Turkey, New Zealand and United States.
Countries in this article
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