France vs United States: Productivity: output per hour worked
France
77.67 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour
in 2023
United States
83.53 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour
in 2023
France rank
12th
United States rank
9th
Productivity: output per hour worked over time
- France
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 83.53 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour against 77.67 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour in France, a difference of 5.86 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times France's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was United States ahead.
France ranks 12th and United States ranks 9th of 130 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 9.74 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 24.18 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 14.43 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 1960s | 16.92 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 31.96 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 15.04 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 1970s | 29.98 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 39.68 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 9.7 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 1980s | 39.92 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 45.01 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 5.09 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 1990s | 50.29 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 52.31 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 2.03 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 2000s | 63.67 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 65.29 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 1.61 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 2010s | 72.6 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 74.91 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 2.31 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
| 2020s | 78.99 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 82.22 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | 3.23 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher productivity: output per hour worked, France or United States?
- United States, at 83.53 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour against 77.67 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour in France as of 2023.
- What is the difference in productivity: output per hour worked between France and United States?
- 5.86 international-$ in 2021 prices per hour, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and United States?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do France and United States rank globally for productivity: output per hour worked?
- France ranks 12th and United States ranks 9th 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 Productivity: output per hour worked. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Productivity is calculated as GDP divided by the total number of hours worked in the economy. This data is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.