Norway vs Sweden: Annual working hours per worker
Norway
1,412 hours per worker
in 2023
Sweden
1,432 hours per worker
in 2023
Norway rank
127th
Sweden rank
126th
Annual working hours per worker over time
- Norway
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 1,432 hours per worker against 1,412 hours per worker in Norway, a difference of 20 hours per worker.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Norway ahead.
Norway ranks 127th and Sweden ranks 126th of 130 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 5 and Sweden in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2,068 hours per worker | 1,764 hours per worker | 303.59 hours per worker | Norway |
| 1960s | 1,957 hours per worker | 1,640 hours per worker | 317.22 hours per worker | Norway |
| 1970s | 1,703 hours per worker | 1,448 hours per worker | 254.91 hours per worker | Norway |
| 1980s | 1,532 hours per worker | 1,387 hours per worker | 144.98 hours per worker | Norway |
| 1990s | 1,483 hours per worker | 1,461 hours per worker | 21.14 hours per worker | Norway |
| 2000s | 1,427 hours per worker | 1,459 hours per worker | 32.5 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2010s | 1,425 hours per worker | 1,470 hours per worker | 44.95 hours per worker | Sweden |
| 2020s | 1,417 hours per worker | 1,433 hours per worker | 15.42 hours per worker | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual working hours per worker, Norway or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 1,432 hours per worker against 1,412 hours per worker in Norway as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual working hours per worker between Norway and Sweden?
- 20 hours per worker, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for annual working hours per worker?
- Norway ranks 127th 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.