Annual working hours per person employed in Belgium
Belgium: Annual working hours per person employed was 1,546 Hours in 2016. ▼ Falling
Annual working hours per person employed in Belgium, 1970–2016
Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Hours.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 1,546 Hours for annual working hours per person employed in 2016.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual working hours per person employed in Belgium peaked at 1,884 Hours in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,545 Hours, in 2015.
That places Belgium 31st out of 37 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1,802 Hours | 1,728 Hours | 1,884 Hours | 10 |
| 1980s | 1,681 Hours | 1,650 Hours | 1,708 Hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,590 Hours | 1,559 Hours | 1,664 Hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,575 Hours | 1,548 Hours | 1,595 Hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,553 Hours | 1,545 Hours | 1,560 Hours | 7 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 28 Sweden 1,626 Hours compare
- 29 Austria 1,609 Hours compare
- 30 Switzerland 1,590 Hours compare
- 32 Luxembourg 1,520 Hours compare
- 33 France 1,503 Hours compare
- 34 Netherlands 1,437 Hours compare
More work & labour data for Belgium
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 54.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 59.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 84.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 49.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 71.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 74.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 67.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual working hours per person employed in Belgium?
- Annual working hours per person employed in Belgium was 1,546 Hours in 2016, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 1,884 Hours in 1970.
- What is the lowest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,545 Hours in 2015.
- How does Belgium rank for annual working hours per person employed?
- Belgium ranks 31st out of 37 countries with data for 2016.
- Is annual working hours per person employed rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours per person employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Regular hours worked by full-time and part-time workers, paid and unpaid overtime, hours worked in additional jobs, and time not worked because of public holidays, annual paid leave, strikes and labour disputes, and other reasons.