Denmark vs Sweden: Annual working hours per worker
Denmark
1,380 hours per worker
in 2023
Sweden
1,432 hours per worker
in 2023
Denmark rank
129th
Sweden rank
126th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- Denmark
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 1,432 hours per worker against 1,380 hours per worker in Denmark, a difference of 52 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 81 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Sweden ahead.
Denmark ranks 129th and Sweden ranks 126th of 130 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 6 and Sweden in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 3,434 hours per worker | 3,436 hours per worker | 2 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1880s | 3,172 hours per worker | 3,187 hours per worker | 15 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1890s | 2,933 hours per worker | 2,937 hours per worker | 4 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1900s | 2,742 hours per worker | 2,745 hours per worker | 3 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1910s | 2,731 hours per worker | 2,745 hours per worker | 14 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1920s | 2,301 hours per worker | 2,152 hours per worker | 149 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1930s | 2,203 hours per worker | 2,131 hours per worker | 72 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1950s | 1,986 hours per worker | 1,764 hours per worker | 221.52 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1960s | 1,935 hours per worker | 1,640 hours per worker | 295.11 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1970s | 1,679 hours per worker | 1,448 hours per worker | 230.33 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1980s | 1,524 hours per worker | 1,387 hours per worker | 136.71 hours per worker | Denmark |
| 1990s | 1,434 hours per worker | 1,461 hours per worker | 27.19 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2000s | 1,450 hours per worker | 1,459 hours per worker | 9.06 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2010s | 1,410 hours per worker | 1,470 hours per worker | 60.58 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2020s | 1,374 hours per worker | 1,433 hours per worker | 59.24 hours per worker | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, Denmark or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 1,432 hours per worker against 1,380 hours per worker in Denmark as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between Denmark and Sweden?
- 52 hours per worker, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Sweden?
- 81 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2023.
- How do Denmark and Sweden rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- Denmark ranks 129th and Sweden ranks 126th 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.