China vs Malaysia: Annual working hours per worker
China
2,328 hours per worker
in 2023
Malaysia
2,308 hours per worker
in 2023
China rank
15th
Malaysia rank
18th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- China
- Malaysia
How they compare
China currently reports 2,328 hours per worker against 2,308 hours per worker in Malaysia, a difference of 20 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 54 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Malaysia ahead.
China ranks 15th and Malaysia ranks 18th of 130 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and Malaysia in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2,241 hours per worker | 2,407 hours per worker | 165.24 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 1980s | 2,247 hours per worker | 2,411 hours per worker | 163.96 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 2,258 hours per worker | 2,424 hours per worker | 166.26 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 2,377 hours per worker | 2,441 hours per worker | 64.61 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 2,402 hours per worker | 2,352 hours per worker | 49.33 hours per worker | China |
| 2020s | 2,303 hours per worker | 2,233 hours per worker | 70.77 hours per worker | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, China or Malaysia?
- China, at 2,328 hours per worker against 2,308 hours per worker in Malaysia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between China and Malaysia?
- 20 hours per worker, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Malaysia?
- 54 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2023.
- How do China and Malaysia rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- China ranks 15th and Malaysia ranks 18th of 130 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual working hours per worker. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Average working hours per worker in a given year.