Netherlands vs Sweden: Annual working hours per worker
Netherlands
1,439 hours per worker
in 2023
Sweden
1,432 hours per worker
in 2023
Netherlands rank
124th
Sweden rank
126th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- Netherlands
- Sweden
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 1,439 hours per worker against 1,432 hours per worker in Sweden, a difference of 7 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 80 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Sweden ahead.
Netherlands ranks 124th and Sweden ranks 126th of 130 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Netherlands averaged higher in 11 and Sweden in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 3,274 hours per worker | 3,436 hours per worker | 162 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 1880s | 3,194 hours per worker | 3,187 hours per worker | 7 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1890s | 3,105 hours per worker | 2,937 hours per worker | 168 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1900s | 3,037 hours per worker | 2,745 hours per worker | 292 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1910s | 2,942 hours per worker | 2,745 hours per worker | 197 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1920s | 2,233 hours per worker | 2,152 hours per worker | 81 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1930s | 2,281 hours per worker | 2,131 hours per worker | 150 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1950s | 2,041 hours per worker | 1,764 hours per worker | 276.83 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1960s | 1,981 hours per worker | 1,651 hours per worker | 330.66 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1970s | 1,720 hours per worker | 1,448 hours per worker | 272.01 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1980s | 1,541 hours per worker | 1,387 hours per worker | 154.03 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 1990s | 1,486 hours per worker | 1,461 hours per worker | 24.7 hours per worker | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 1,447 hours per worker | 1,459 hours per worker | 11.82 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2010s | 1,440 hours per worker | 1,470 hours per worker | 30.78 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2020s | 1,431 hours per worker | 1,433 hours per worker | 1.44 hours per worker | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, Netherlands or Sweden?
- Netherlands, at 1,439 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 Netherlands and Sweden?
- 7 hours per worker, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Sweden?
- 80 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2023.
- How do Netherlands and Sweden rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- Netherlands ranks 124th 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.