Malaysia vs Singapore: Annual working hours per worker
Malaysia
2,308 hours per worker
in 2023
Singapore
2,283 hours per worker
in 2023
Malaysia rank
18th
Singapore rank
20th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- Malaysia
- Singapore
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 2,308 hours per worker against 2,283 hours per worker in Singapore, a difference of 25 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 54 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Malaysia ahead.
Malaysia ranks 18th and Singapore ranks 20th of 130 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Malaysia averaged higher in 2 and Singapore in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | Singapore | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2,407 hours per worker | 2,328 hours per worker | 78.43 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 1980s | 2,411 hours per worker | 2,331 hours per worker | 80.03 hours per worker | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 2,424 hours per worker | 2,500 hours per worker | 76.18 hours per worker | Singapore |
| 2000s | 2,441 hours per worker | 2,516 hours per worker | 74.39 hours per worker | Singapore |
| 2010s | 2,352 hours per worker | 2,387 hours per worker | 34.51 hours per worker | Singapore |
| 2020s | 2,233 hours per worker | 2,285 hours per worker | 52.06 hours per worker | Singapore |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, Malaysia or Singapore?
- Malaysia, at 2,308 hours per worker against 2,283 hours per worker in Singapore as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between Malaysia and Singapore?
- 25 hours per worker, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Singapore?
- 54 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2023.
- How do Malaysia and Singapore rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- Malaysia ranks 18th and Singapore ranks 20th 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.