Who works the longest week

Full-time workers in Greece work 3.5 hours more a week than those in Finland.

The EU average is 38.7 hours a week: the hours full-time workers actually work in their main job.

27 / 27 EU countries ranked · Eurostat, data updated 2026-09-10

The ranking

In 2025, the full-time working week ranged from 37.1 hours in Finland to 40.6 hours in Greece.

Full-time working week, hours

2025 · employed people, full-time, aged 20 to 64

01020304050hours

Rank 1: Greece, 40.6 hours

Rank 2: Poland, 39.9 hours

Rank 3: Slovenia, 39.8 hours

Rank 4: Lithuania, 39.4 hours

Rank 5: Cyprus, 39.1 hours

Rank 5: Latvia, 39.1 hours

Rank 5: Malta, 39.1 hours

Rank 8: Austria, 39.0 hours

Rank 9: Bulgaria, 38.9 hours

Rank 9: Czechia, 38.9 hours

Rank 9: Germany, 38.9 hours

Rank 12: Spain, 38.7 hours

Rank 12: Portugal, 38.7 hours

Rank 14: Italy, 38.5 hours

Rank 14: Romania, 38.5 hours

Rank 16: Slovakia, 38.4 hours

Rank 17: Estonia, 38.3 hours

Rank 17: Croatia, 38.3 hours

Rank 19: France, 38.2 hours

Rank 19: Ireland, 38.2 hours

Rank 19: Luxembourg, 38.2 hours

Rank 22: Hungary, 38.1 hours

Rank 23: Belgium, 37.9 hours

Rank 24: Denmark, 37.8 hours

Rank 24: Sweden, 37.8 hours

Rank 26: Netherlands, 37.4 hours

Rank 27: Finland, 37.1 hours

How to read: bars start at zero; every country with a value is shown, ranked from highest to lowest.Source: Eurostat, Average actual weekly hours worked in the main job of persons who worked in this job during the reference week by professional status, full-time/part-time employment and economic activity (NACE Rev. 2) (2008-2026) (lfsa_ewhan2).

Women and men

Among women, the gap was wider: from 35.0 hours in the Netherlands to 39.2 hours in Slovenia; a gap of 4.2 hours.

Among men, the gap was narrower: from 38.4 hours in Finland and the Netherlands to 41.8 hours in Greece; a gap of 3.4 hours.

Full-time working week: women and men

2025

WomenMenMen − womenDifference

36384042hours

Rank 1: Greece, Women: 38.8 hours, Men: 41.8 hours, Men − women: +3.0

Rank 2: Poland, Women: 38.9 hours, Men: 40.6 hours, Men − women: +1.7

Rank 3: Slovenia, Women: 39.2 hours, Men: 40.2 hours, Men − women: +1.0

Rank 4: Cyprus, Women: 38.2 hours, Men: 40.0 hours, Men − women: +1.8

Rank 5: Ireland, Women: 35.9 hours, Men: 39.9 hours, Men − women: +4.0

Rank 6: Lithuania, Women: 39.1 hours, Men: 39.7 hours, Men − women: +0.6

Rank 7: Portugal, Women: 37.7 hours, Men: 39.7 hours, Men − women: +2.0

Rank 8: Czechia, Women: 37.9 hours, Men: 39.6 hours, Men − women: +1.7

Rank 9: Malta, Women: 38.2 hours, Men: 39.6 hours, Men − women: +1.4

Rank 10: Austria, Women: 38.1 hours, Men: 39.5 hours, Men − women: +1.4

Rank 11: Italy, Women: 36.8 hours, Men: 39.5 hours, Men − women: +2.7

Rank 12: Spain, Women: 37.6 hours, Men: 39.5 hours, Men − women: +1.9

Rank 13: Germany, Women: 37.8 hours, Men: 39.4 hours, Men − women: +1.6

Rank 14: Latvia, Women: 38.9 hours, Men: 39.3 hours, Men − women: +0.4

Rank 15: Estonia, Women: 37.5 hours, Men: 39.1 hours, Men − women: +1.6

Rank 16: France, Women: 36.9 hours, Men: 39.1 hours, Men − women: +2.2

Rank 17: Bulgaria, Women: 38.8 hours, Men: 39.0 hours, Men − women: +0.2

Rank 18: Slovakia, Women: 37.5 hours, Men: 39.0 hours, Men − women: +1.5

Rank 19: Belgium, Women: 36.4 hours, Men: 38.8 hours, Men − women: +2.4

Rank 20: Luxembourg, Women: 37.2 hours, Men: 38.8 hours, Men − women: +1.6

Rank 21: Romania, Women: 38.2 hours, Men: 38.8 hours, Men − women: +0.6

Rank 22: Croatia, Women: 37.8 hours, Men: 38.7 hours, Men − women: +0.9

Rank 23: Denmark, Women: 36.5 hours, Men: 38.6 hours, Men − women: +2.1

Rank 24: Hungary, Women: 37.7 hours, Men: 38.5 hours, Men − women: +0.8

Rank 25: Sweden, Women: 36.8 hours, Men: 38.5 hours, Men − women: +1.7

Rank 26: Finland, Women: 35.6 hours, Men: 38.4 hours, Men − women: +2.8

Rank 27: Netherlands, Women: 35.0 hours, Men: 38.4 hours, Men − women: +3.4

How to read: the filled dot is men, the outlined dot women, each with its value beside it; the column on the right is their difference, men − women. Countries are ranked by men.Source: Eurostat, Average actual weekly hours worked in the main job of persons who worked in this job during the reference week by professional status, full-time/part-time employment and economic activity (NACE Rev. 2) (2008-2026) (lfsa_ewhan2).

	Everyone	Women	Men
Lowest	37.1 hoursFinland	35.0 hoursthe Netherlands	38.4 hoursFinland and the Netherlands
Highest	40.6 hoursGreece	39.2 hoursSlovenia	41.8 hoursGreece
Highest − lowest	3.5 hours	4.2 hours	3.4 hours

Everyone

Lowest: 37.1 hours (Finland)Highest: 40.6 hours (Greece)Highest − lowest: 3.5 hours

Women

Lowest: 35.0 hours (the Netherlands)Highest: 39.2 hours (Slovenia)Highest − lowest: 4.2 hours

Men

Lowest: 38.4 hours (Finland and the Netherlands)Highest: 41.8 hours (Greece)Highest − lowest: 3.4 hours

Employees and the self-employed

Among employees, the gap was narrower: from 36.3 hours in Belgium to 39.4 hours in Lithuania; a gap of 3.1 hours.

Among the self-employed, the gap was wider: from 39.0 hours in Hungary and Latvia to 46.1 hours in Greece; a gap of 7.1 hours.

Full-time working week: employees and self-employed

2025

EmployeesSelf-employedSelf-employed − employeesDifference

363840424446hours

Rank 1: Lithuania, Employees: 39.4 hours, Self-employed: 40.0 hours, Self-employed − employees: +0.6

Rank 2: Slovenia, Employees: 39.2 hours, Self-employed: 43.3 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.1

Rank 3: Latvia, Self-employed: 39.0 hours, Employees: 39.1 hours, Self-employed − employees: −0.1

Rank 4: Cyprus, Employees: 39.0 hours, Self-employed: 40.6 hours, Self-employed − employees: +1.6

Rank 5: Poland, Employees: 39.0 hours, Self-employed: 43.7 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.7

Rank 6: Bulgaria, Employees: 38.9 hours, Self-employed: 39.6 hours, Self-employed − employees: +0.7

Rank 7: Greece, Employees: 38.7 hours, Self-employed: 46.1 hours, Self-employed − employees: +7.4

Rank 8: Malta, Employees: 38.6 hours, Self-employed: 42.2 hours, Self-employed − employees: +3.6

Rank 9: Germany, Employees: 38.4 hours, Self-employed: 43.5 hours, Self-employed − employees: +5.1

Rank 10: Romania, Employees: 38.4 hours, Self-employed: 39.7 hours, Self-employed − employees: +1.3

Rank 11: Czechia, Employees: 38.2 hours, Self-employed: 42.4 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.2

Rank 12: Estonia, Employees: 38.2 hours, Self-employed: 39.6 hours, Self-employed − employees: +1.4

Rank 13: Portugal, Employees: 38.1 hours, Self-employed: 43.5 hours, Self-employed − employees: +5.4

Rank 14: Croatia, Employees: 38.0 hours, Self-employed: 40.5 hours, Self-employed − employees: +2.5

Rank 15: Hungary, Employees: 38.0 hours, Self-employed: 39.0 hours, Self-employed − employees: +1.0

Rank 16: Austria, Employees: 37.9 hours, Self-employed: 45.9 hours, Self-employed − employees: +8.0

Rank 17: Luxembourg, Employees: 37.9 hours, Self-employed: 41.4 hours, Self-employed − employees: +3.5

Rank 18: Spain, Employees: 37.8 hours, Self-employed: 44.5 hours, Self-employed − employees: +6.7

Rank 19: Slovakia, Employees: 37.7 hours, Self-employed: 41.9 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.2

Rank 20: Italy, Employees: 37.5 hours, Self-employed: 42.2 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.7

Rank 21: Sweden, Employees: 37.4 hours, Self-employed: 42.1 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.7

Rank 22: Denmark, Employees: 37.3 hours, Self-employed: 42.8 hours, Self-employed − employees: +5.5

Rank 23: Ireland, Employees: 37.3 hours, Self-employed: 45.0 hours, Self-employed − employees: +7.7

Rank 24: France, Employees: 37.1 hours, Self-employed: 45.0 hours, Self-employed − employees: +7.9

Rank 25: Netherlands, Employees: 36.5 hours, Self-employed: 41.1 hours, Self-employed − employees: +4.6

Rank 26: Finland, Employees: 36.4 hours, Self-employed: 43.0 hours, Self-employed − employees: +6.6

Rank 27: Belgium, Employees: 36.3 hours, Self-employed: 45.7 hours, Self-employed − employees: +9.4

How to read: the filled dot is employees, the outlined dot self-employed, each with its value beside it; the column on the right is their difference, self-employed − employees. Countries are ranked by employees.Source: Eurostat, Average actual weekly hours worked in the main job of persons who worked in this job during the reference week by professional status, full-time/part-time employment and economic activity (NACE Rev. 2) (2008-2026) (lfsa_ewhan2).

	Everyone	Employees	Self-employed
Lowest	37.1 hoursFinland	36.3 hoursBelgium	39.0 hoursHungary and Latvia
Highest	40.6 hoursGreece	39.4 hoursLithuania	46.1 hoursGreece
Highest − lowest	3.5 hours	3.1 hours	7.1 hours

Everyone

Lowest: 37.1 hours (Finland)Highest: 40.6 hours (Greece)Highest − lowest: 3.5 hours

Employees

Lowest: 36.3 hours (Belgium)Highest: 39.4 hours (Lithuania)Highest − lowest: 3.1 hours

Self-employed

Lowest: 39.0 hours (Hungary and Latvia)Highest: 46.1 hours (Greece)Highest − lowest: 7.1 hours

About the data

The average number of hours employed people actually worked in their main job in the week the survey asked about. Hours lost to holidays or sickness are not counted, and people away the whole week are left out.

Counted: employed people, full-time, aged 20 to 64.

Eurostat: “Excluded from this measure are periods of absence from work such as sick leave, holidays and commuting time.” (source)

EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), a sample survey of households run by the national statistical institutes.

How to read these numbers

Different definitions

Since 2021, every year's value for Spain and France, the latest included, is marked by Eurostat as following a different definition (flag d): both countries still decide whether people on temporary lay-off count as employed by the rules used until 2020.

Sources and data

Eurostat, Average actual weekly hours worked in the main job of persons who worked in this job during the reference week by professional status, full-time/part-time employment and economic activity (NACE Rev. 2) (2008-2026) (lfsa_ewhan2). Data updated 2026-09-10; retrieved 2026-10-27. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Eurostat metadata · Eurostat methodology

The exact Eurostat API query

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/lfsa_ewhan2?format=JSON&lang=en&age=Y20-64&freq=A&geo=AT&geo=BE&geo=BG&geo=CY&geo=CZ&geo=DE&geo=DK&geo=EE&geo=EL&geo=ES&geo=EU27_2020&geo=FI&geo=FR&geo=HR&geo=HU&geo=IE&geo=IT&geo=LT&geo=LU&geo=LV&geo=MT&geo=NL&geo=PL&geo=PT&geo=RO&geo=SE&geo=SI&geo=SK&nace_r2=TOTAL&sex=T&unit=HR&worktime=FT&wstatus=EMP

How every number in this story was computed