Annual working hours per person employed in Germany

Germany: Annual working hours per person employed was 1,355 Hours in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
1,355 Hours
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
37th
of 37 countries
All-time high
1,960 Hours
in 1970
All-time low
1,355 Hours
in 2017
Years of data
48
1970–2017

Annual working hours per person employed in Germany, 1970–2017

05001.0k1.5k2.0k197019932017

Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Hours.

Analysis

Germany recorded 1,355 Hours for annual working hours per person employed in 2017. That is the lowest value across all 48 years on record.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per person employed in Germany peaked at 1,960 Hours in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,355 Hours, in 2017.

That places Germany 37th out of 37 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.

Annual working hours per person employed in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Annual working hours per person employed in Germany, 1970 to 2017.
Year Hours Change
1970 1,960 Hours
1971 1,928 Hours -1.6%
1972 1,905 Hours -1.2%
1973 1,876 Hours -1.5%
1974 1,837 Hours -2.1%
1975 1,800 Hours -2.0%
1976 1,813 Hours +0.7%
1977 1,795 Hours -1.0%
1978 1,776 Hours -1.1%
1979 1,764 Hours -0.7%
1980 1,745 Hours -1.1%
1981 1,724 Hours -1.2%
1982 1,712 Hours -0.6%
1983 1,700 Hours -0.8%
1984 1,688 Hours -0.7%
1985 1,665 Hours -1.4%
1986 1,646 Hours -1.1%
1987 1,624 Hours -1.3%
1988 1,619 Hours -0.3%
1989 1,595 Hours -1.4%
1990 1,572 Hours -1.4%
1991 1,554 Hours -1.2%
1992 1,565 Hours +0.7%
1993 1,542 Hours -1.5%
1994 1,537 Hours -0.3%
1995 1,528 Hours -0.6%
1996 1,510 Hours -1.1%
1997 1,500 Hours -0.7%
1998 1,494 Hours -0.4%
1999 1,479 Hours -1.0%
2000 1,452 Hours -1.8%
2001 1,442 Hours -0.7%
2002 1,431 Hours -0.8%
2003 1,425 Hours -0.4%
2004 1,422 Hours -0.2%
2005 1,411 Hours -0.8%
2006 1,425 Hours +0.9%
2007 1,424 Hours -0.0%
2008 1,418 Hours -0.4%
2009 1,373 Hours -3.2%
2010 1,390 Hours +1.3%
2011 1,393 Hours +0.2%
2012 1,375 Hours -1.3%
2013 1,363 Hours -0.9%
2014 1,367 Hours +0.3%
2015 1,368 Hours +0.1%
2016 1,359 Hours -0.7%
2017 1,355 Hours -0.2%

Germany compared with similar countries

  • Germany's 1,355 Hours is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,728 Hours, 78% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Germany's 1,355 Hours is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,713 Hours, 79% of the median. (28 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1,845 Hours 1,764 Hours 1,960 Hours 10
1980s 1,672 Hours 1,595 Hours 1,745 Hours 10
1990s 1,528 Hours 1,479 Hours 1,572 Hours 10
2000s 1,422 Hours 1,373 Hours 1,452 Hours 10
2010s 1,371 Hours 1,355 Hours 1,393 Hours 8

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 34 Netherlands 1,437 Hours compare
  2. 35 Norway 1,429 Hours compare
  3. 36 Denmark 1,409 Hours compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More work & labour data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per person employed in Germany?
Annual working hours per person employed in Germany was 1,355 Hours in 2017, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 1,960 Hours in 1970.
What is the lowest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 1,355 Hours in 2017.
How does Germany rank for annual working hours per person employed?
Germany ranks 37th out of 37 countries with data for 2017.
Is annual working hours per person employed rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Germany 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.

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Annual working hours per person employed in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-working-hours-per-person-employed/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours per person employed
Unit
Hours
Source
OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
38 places, 1,460 data points, 1970–2017
Last refreshed

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.