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In 2023, Türkiye recorded the highest average weekly working hours in Europe, with an average of 44.6 hours, ranking 27th globally.
According to data gathered by Visual Capitalist from the International Labour Organization's (ILO) dataset ranging from 2021 to 2023 and covering eight of the 187 ILO member states, employees worldwide work an average of 43.9 hours per week.
As per ILO data, Türkiye stands out with its working hours surpassing both global and European averages. Meanwhile, European countries tend to have shorter average weekly working hours, employees in the Netherlands, for instance, work an average of 29.8 hours per week.
On the other hand, Balkan countries dominated the top 10 list in Europe, following Türkiye.
Rank
Countries
Weekly working hours
GDP per capita (IMF's 2024 estimations)
1st
Türkiye
44.6
$15,665.943
2nd
Montenegro
44.1
$12,802.124
3rd
Albania
43.7
$9,598.191
4th
Kosovo
42.9
$6,333.918
5th
Bosnia and Herzegovina
41.4
$8,220.816
6th
Kyrgyzstan
41.3
$2,228.777
7th
Serbia
41.1
$12,513.826
8th
Romania
39.8
$20,088.859
9th
Moldova
39.7
$7,368.494
10th
Russia
39.6
$14,952.904
Top 10 countries with the highest weekly working hours in Europe. Source: Visual Capitalist
In the top 10 countries by working hours around the world, the average workweek exceeds 48 hours, with India recording the highest at 56 hours.
Rank
Countries
Weekly working hours
GDP per capita (IMF's 2024 estimations)
1st
India
56
$2,697.563
2nd
Bhutan
53.3
$4,068.072
3rd
Bangladesh
50.4
$2,624.532
4th
Uganda
50.3
$1,186.529
5th
Cambodia
49.5
$2,743.991
6th
Pakistan
49.2
$1,587.604
7th
Sudan
49
$606.289
8th
UAE
48.7
$49,549.588
9th
Jordan
48.4
$4,682.081
10th
Zimbabwe
48.1
$2,113.811
Top 10 countries with the highest weekly working hours in the world. Source: Visual Capitalist
Four of the five countries with the longest workweeks are located in the Asia-Pacific region, which is the most populated region of the world: India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
The ILO report highlights that working hours reflect differences in cultural norms, economic structures, and labor policies, leading to significant regional disparities in averages.
Worker definition of ILO differs as it only includes individuals employed under an employer within the term, excluding self-employed individuals.
According to ILO standards, working more than 48 hours per week is considered excessive due to its adverse effects on health, safety, productivity and work-life balance.
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