Annual Working Hours by Country in 2023, OECD Ranking

Key figures from the chart

• Mexico has the longest working hours on the chart, at 2,207 hours a year per person in employment, or 276 eight-hour days.
• Germany has the shortest, at 1,343 hours or 168 days. The gap is 864 hours, which is 108 eight-hour days by our arithmetic.
• The top three are all in the Americas: Mexico, Costa Rica (2,171) and Chile (1,953). Greece (1,897) is the highest in Europe.
• The US is ninth of 34, at 1,799 hours. The UK is 24th, at 1,524.
• Figures are for 2023. The chart cites the OECD and Zippia.

Annual working hours by country in text

Title: Annual Working Hours per Person. Bars are coloured by region (Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Oceania). Each bar shows the annual hours and the same total as a number of eight-hour workdays. Rank numbers are ours.

Callouts as printed: “The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid holiday for workers” and “Employees in the EU are entitled to at least 4 weeks paid holiday per year”.

Method note as printed: “Calculated as the total # of hours actually worked per year, divided by the average # of people in employment per year. As of 2023. Source: OECD, Zippia”. Logo: a circular piggy bank emblem with no text.

What these working hours measure

The figures are averages across everyone in employment, so they include part-time workers [1]. The OECD publishes the series as average annual hours actually worked per worker [2].

Visual Capitalist’s article on the chart notes that the OECD has 38 members but that data was not available for all of them, and that it converted hours into eight-hour workdays for context [1].

Paid holiday in the EU and the US

The two callouts on the chart can be checked against official sources. The European Commission’s page on the Working Time Directive lists paid annual leave of at least 4 weeks per year among the minimum rights it sets [3]. In the US, the Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays, and that these benefits are a matter of agreement between employer and employee [4].

Notes on this infographic

• OECD figures have been revised. The OECD’s current 2023 values differ from the chart for some countries. When we downloaded them in October 2026 they gave Mexico 2,228 hours (chart 2,207), the US 1,805 (chart 1,799) and Germany 1,339 (chart 1,343), while Costa Rica (2,171) and Chile (1,953) matched [2].
• Missing countries. The OECD’s current 2023 data also includes Colombia (2,252 hours), which is not on the chart [2].
• “Only advanced economy”. We confirmed that US federal law does not require paid holiday [4], but did not check every other advanced economy.
• Creator. The chart’s logo carries no name. It matches Visual Capitalist’s article of 22 July 2024 by Marcus Lu, with graphics by Miranda Smith [1].

Questions about annual working hours by country

Which country works the most hours per year?

Mexico, at 2,207 hours a year per person in employment in 2023, or 276 eight-hour days. Costa Rica (2,171) and Chile (1,953) follow, and Greece (1,897) is the highest in Europe. The OECD's current 2023 figures give Mexico 2,228 hours and also include Colombia at 2,252 hours, which is not on the chart [2].

Which country has the shortest working hours?

Germany, at 1,343 hours a year per person in employment in 2023, or 168 eight-hour days. Denmark (1,380) and the Netherlands (1,413) are next. The figures are averages across everyone in employment, so they include part-time workers [1]. The OECD's current 2023 value for Germany is 1,339 hours [2].

How many hours a year does the average American work?

The average US worker put in 1,799 hours in 2023, the equivalent of 225 eight-hour days. That makes the US ninth of the 34 countries on the chart. The UK is 24th at 1,524 hours. The OECD's current 2023 figure for the US is 1,805 hours [2].

Is paid holiday required by law in the US?

No. The US Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays, and that these benefits are a matter of agreement between employer and employee [4]. In the EU, the Working Time Directive sets paid annual leave of at least 4 weeks per year [3].

Sources

1. Visual Capitalist, Ranked: Average Working Hours by Country, by Marcus Lu, graphics by Miranda Smith, 22 July 2024 (archived copy).
2. OECD, Average annual hours actually worked per worker (OECD data API, 2023 values), downloaded October 2026.
3. European Commission, Working Time Directive.
4. US Department of Labor, Vacation Leave.

Last reviewed 29 October 2026