Annual working hours per person employed in Iceland

Iceland: Annual working hours per person employed was 1,883 Hours in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
1,883 Hours
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
10th
of 37 countries
All-time high
2,350 Hours
in 1970
All-time low
1,834 Hours
in 2010
Years of data
47
1970–2016

Annual working hours per person employed in Iceland, 1970–2016

05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k197019932016

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

Analysis

Iceland recorded 1,883 Hours for annual working hours per person employed in 2016.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per person employed in Iceland peaked at 2,350 Hours in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,834 Hours, in 2010.

That places Iceland 10th out of 37 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Annual working hours per person employed in Iceland, 1970 to 2016.
Year Hours Change
1970 2,350 Hours
1971 2,304 Hours -1.9%
1972 2,265 Hours -1.7%
1973 2,245 Hours -0.9%
1974 2,215 Hours -1.3%
1975 2,186 Hours -1.3%
1976 2,153 Hours -1.5%
1977 2,103 Hours -2.3%
1978 2,057 Hours -2.2%
1979 2,042 Hours -0.7%
1980 2,030 Hours -0.6%
1981 2,022 Hours -0.4%
1982 2,026 Hours +0.2%
1983 2,026 Hours +0.0%
1984 2,023 Hours -0.1%
1985 2,022 Hours -0.1%
1986 2,014 Hours -0.4%
1987 2,011 Hours -0.1%
1988 2,020 Hours +0.4%
1989 2,015 Hours -0.3%
1990 2,003 Hours -0.6%
1991 2,007 Hours +0.2%
1992 2,007 Hours +0.0%
1993 2,025 Hours +0.9%
1994 1,991 Hours -1.7%
1995 1,975 Hours -0.8%
1996 1,996 Hours +1.1%
1997 2,026 Hours +1.5%
1998 2,003 Hours -1.1%
1999 1,979 Hours -1.2%
2000 2,040 Hours +3.1%
2001 2,053 Hours +0.6%
2002 2,012 Hours -2.0%
2003 1,972 Hours -2.0%
2004 1,980 Hours +0.4%
2005 1,970 Hours -0.5%
2006 1,958 Hours -0.6%
2007 1,932 Hours -1.3%
2008 1,934 Hours +0.1%
2009 1,849 Hours -4.4%
2010 1,834 Hours -0.8%
2011 1,878 Hours +2.4%
2012 1,853 Hours -1.3%
2013 1,846 Hours -0.4%
2014 1,864 Hours +1.0%
2015 1,880 Hours +0.9%
2016 1,883 Hours +0.2%

Iceland compared with similar countries

  • Iceland's 1,883 Hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,728 Hours, 1.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Iceland's 1,883 Hours is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,713 Hours, 1.1× the median. (28 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2,192 Hours 2,042 Hours 2,350 Hours 10
1980s 2,021 Hours 2,011 Hours 2,030 Hours 10
1990s 2,001 Hours 1,975 Hours 2,026 Hours 10
2000s 1,970 Hours 1,849 Hours 2,053 Hours 10
2010s 1,863 Hours 1,834 Hours 1,883 Hours 7

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 7 Israel 1,921 Hours compare
  2. 8 Latvia 1,902 Hours compare
  3. 9 Lithuania 1,885 Hours compare
  4. 11 Portugal 1,865 Hours compare
  5. 12 Estonia 1,855 Hours compare
  6. 13 Turkey 1,832 Hours compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More work & labour data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per person employed in Iceland?
Annual working hours per person employed in Iceland was 1,883 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 Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 2,350 Hours in 1970.
What is the lowest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 1,834 Hours in 2010.
How does Iceland rank for annual working hours per person employed?
Iceland ranks 10th out of 37 countries with data for 2016.
Is annual working hours per person employed rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iceland 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 Iceland. 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/iceland/

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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.