France vs United Kingdom: Annual working hours per worker
France
1,487 hours per worker
in 2023
United Kingdom
1,523 hours per worker
in 2023
France rank
120th
United Kingdom rank
117th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- France
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 1,523 hours per worker against 1,487 hours per worker in France, a difference of 36 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 81 shared years of data; in 1870 it was France ahead.
France ranks 120th and United Kingdom ranks 117th of 130 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, France averaged higher in 9 and United Kingdom in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 3,168 hours per worker | 2,755 hours per worker | 413 hours per worker | France |
| 1880s | 3,165 hours per worker | 2,740 hours per worker | 425 hours per worker | France |
| 1890s | 3,119 hours per worker | 2,669 hours per worker | 450 hours per worker | France |
| 1900s | 3,115 hours per worker | 2,656 hours per worker | 459 hours per worker | France |
| 1910s | 2,933 hours per worker | 2,656 hours per worker | 277 hours per worker | France |
| 1920s | 2,198 hours per worker | 2,257 hours per worker | 59 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
| 1930s | 1,760 hours per worker | 2,200 hours per worker | 440 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
| 1950s | 2,277 hours per worker | 1,995 hours per worker | 281.82 hours per worker | France |
| 1960s | 2,136 hours per worker | 1,847 hours per worker | 289.26 hours per worker | France |
| 1970s | 1,890 hours per worker | 1,698 hours per worker | 192.81 hours per worker | France |
| 1980s | 1,667 hours per worker | 1,622 hours per worker | 45.04 hours per worker | France |
| 1990s | 1,590 hours per worker | 1,593 hours per worker | 2.95 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 1,516 hours per worker | 1,547 hours per worker | 30.33 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 1,511 hours per worker | 1,537 hours per worker | 25.16 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 1,460 hours per worker | 1,483 hours per worker | 23.64 hours per worker | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, France or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 1,523 hours per worker against 1,487 hours per worker in France as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between France and United Kingdom?
- 36 hours per worker, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and United Kingdom?
- 81 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2023.
- How do France and United Kingdom rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- France ranks 120th and United Kingdom ranks 117th 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.