South Africa vs Zambia: Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita

South Africa
2,181 hours per worker
in 2023
Zambia
2,200 hours per worker
in 2023
South Africa rank
30th
Zambia rank
27th

Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita over time

  • South Africa
  • Zambia
05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k200120122023

How they compare

Zambia currently reports 2,200 hours per worker against 2,181 hours per worker in South Africa, a difference of 19 hours per worker.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 18 shared years of data; in 2005 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 30th and Zambia ranks 27th of 130 countries.

Across the 3 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 2 and Zambia in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Zambia Difference Ahead
2000s 2,314 hours per worker 1,923 hours per worker 390.97 hours per worker South Africa
2010s 2,217 hours per worker 1,976 hours per worker 240.27 hours per worker South Africa
2020s 2,148 hours per worker 2,164 hours per worker 16.1 hours per worker Zambia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual working hours vs. gdp per capita, South Africa or Zambia?
Zambia, at 2,200 hours per worker against 2,181 hours per worker in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in annual working hours vs. gdp per capita between South Africa and Zambia?
19 hours per worker, with Zambia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zambia?
18 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2023.
How do South Africa and Zambia rank globally for annual working hours vs. gdp per capita?
South Africa ranks 30th and Zambia ranks 27th of 130 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Zambia: Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid, drawing on Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/compare/annual-working-hours-vs-gdp-per-capita-pwt/south-africa/zambia/

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<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/compare/annual-working-hours-vs-gdp-per-capita-pwt/south-africa/zambia/">South Africa vs Zambia: Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours vs. GDP per capita
Unit
hours per worker
Source
Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
130 places, 4,965 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

This is the average sum of hours worked by employees and self-employed people during each year in a country.