Iceland vs Sweden: Annual working hours per worker

Iceland
1,452 hours per worker
in 2023
Sweden
1,432 hours per worker
in 2023
Iceland rank
123rd
Sweden rank
126th

Annual working hours per worker over time

  • Iceland
  • Sweden
01.0k2.0k3.0k187019462023

How they compare

Iceland currently reports 1,452 hours per worker against 1,432 hours per worker in Sweden, a difference of 20 hours per worker.

Across all 60 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.

Iceland ranks 123rd and Sweden ranks 126th of 130 countries.

Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Iceland Sweden Difference Ahead
1960s 2,073 hours per worker 1,607 hours per worker 466.56 hours per worker Iceland
1970s 1,842 hours per worker 1,448 hours per worker 393.84 hours per worker Iceland
1980s 1,698 hours per worker 1,387 hours per worker 310.83 hours per worker Iceland
1990s 1,682 hours per worker 1,461 hours per worker 220.17 hours per worker Iceland
2000s 1,654 hours per worker 1,459 hours per worker 194.67 hours per worker Iceland
2010s 1,514 hours per worker 1,470 hours per worker 43.75 hours per worker Iceland
2020s 1,459 hours per worker 1,433 hours per worker 26.31 hours per worker Iceland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual working hours per worker, Iceland or Sweden?
Iceland, at 1,452 hours per worker against 1,432 hours per worker in Sweden as of 2023.
What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between Iceland and Sweden?
20 hours per worker, with Iceland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Sweden?
60 years are reported by both, from 1964 to 2023.
How do Iceland and Sweden rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
Iceland ranks 123rd 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

Indicator
Annual working hours per worker
Unit
hours per worker
Source
Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
130 places, 5,063 data points, 1870–2023
Last refreshed

Average working hours per worker in a given year.