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Annual working hours per worker in Belgium

Belgium: Annual working hours per worker was 1,593 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,593 hours per worker
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
111th
of 130 countries
All-time high
3,483 hours per worker
in 1870
All-time low
1,459 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
81
1870–2023

Annual working hours per worker in Belgium, 1870–2023

01.0k2.0k3.0k187019462023

Source: Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hours per worker.

Analysis

Belgium recorded 1,593 hours per worker for annual working hours per worker in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Belgium peaked at 3,483 hours per worker in 1870 and was at its lowest, 1,459 hours per worker, in 2020.

Belgium ranks 111th of 130 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 81 years of available data.

Annual working hours per worker in Belgium, year by year

Year hours per worker Change
1870 3,483 hours per worker —
1880 3,344 hours per worker -4.0%
1890 3,177 hours per worker -5.0%
1900 3,064 hours per worker -3.6%
1913 2,841 hours per worker -7.3%
1929 2,229 hours per worker -21.5%
1938 2,196 hours per worker -1.5%
1950 2,124 hours per worker -3.3%
1951 2,114 hours per worker -0.5%
1952 2,104 hours per worker -0.5%
1953 2,093 hours per worker -0.5%
1954 2,083 hours per worker -0.5%
1955 2,073 hours per worker -0.5%
1956 2,063 hours per worker -0.5%
1957 2,053 hours per worker -0.5%
1958 2,043 hours per worker -0.5%
1959 2,033 hours per worker -0.5%
1960 2,023 hours per worker -0.5%
1961 2,011 hours per worker -0.6%
1962 1,999 hours per worker -0.6%
1963 1,987 hours per worker -0.6%
1964 1,975 hours per worker -0.6%
1965 1,964 hours per worker -0.6%
1966 1,952 hours per worker -0.6%
1967 1,940 hours per worker -0.6%
1968 1,929 hours per worker -0.6%
1969 1,917 hours per worker -0.6%
1970 1,906 hours per worker -0.6%
1971 1,897 hours per worker -0.5%
1972 1,870 hours per worker -1.4%
1973 1,843 hours per worker -1.4%
1974 1,813 hours per worker -1.7%
1975 1,803 hours per worker -0.6%
1976 1,804 hours per worker +0.1%
1977 1,778 hours per worker -1.5%
1978 1,759 hours per worker -1.1%
1979 1,742 hours per worker -1.0%
1980 1,722 hours per worker -1.2%
1981 1,699 hours per worker -1.3%
1982 1,684 hours per worker -0.9%
1983 1,690 hours per worker +0.4%
1984 1,714 hours per worker +1.4%
1985 1,721 hours per worker +0.4%
1986 1,701 hours per worker -1.2%
1987 1,685 hours per worker -0.9%
1988 1,673 hours per worker -0.7%
1989 1,664 hours per worker -0.5%
1990 1,678 hours per worker +0.9%
1991 1,641 hours per worker -2.3%
1992 1,617 hours per worker -1.4%
1993 1,573 hours per worker -2.7%
1994 1,573 hours per worker -0.0%
1995 1,578 hours per worker +0.3%
1996 1,575 hours per worker -0.2%
1997 1,582 hours per worker +0.5%
1998 1,574 hours per worker -0.5%
1999 1,575 hours per worker +0.1%
2000 1,589 hours per worker +0.9%
2001 1,581 hours per worker -0.5%
2002 1,594 hours per worker +0.8%
2003 1,598 hours per worker +0.3%
2004 1,588 hours per worker -0.7%
2005 1,578 hours per worker -0.6%
2006 1,592 hours per worker +0.9%
2007 1,594 hours per worker +0.1%
2008 1,583 hours per worker -0.7%
2009 1,564 hours per worker -1.2%
2010 1,578 hours per worker +0.9%
2011 1,595 hours per worker +1.0%
2012 1,593 hours per worker -0.1%
2013 1,592 hours per worker -0.1%
2014 1,588 hours per worker -0.2%
2015 1,582 hours per worker -0.4%
2016 1,582 hours per worker +0.0%
2017 1,584 hours per worker +0.1%
2018 1,588 hours per worker +0.2%
2019 1,587 hours per worker -0.0%
2020 1,459 hours per worker -8.1%
2021 1,551 hours per worker +6.3%
2022 1,590 hours per worker +2.5%
2023 1,593 hours per worker +0.2%

Belgium compared with similar countries

  • Belgium's 1,593 hours per worker is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,668 hours per worker, 96% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
  • Belgium's 1,593 hours per worker is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,735 hours per worker, 92% of the median. (47 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 3,483 hours per worker 3,483 hours per worker 3,483 hours per worker 1
1880s 3,344 hours per worker 3,344 hours per worker 3,344 hours per worker 1
1890s 3,177 hours per worker 3,177 hours per worker 3,177 hours per worker 1
1900s 3,064 hours per worker 3,064 hours per worker 3,064 hours per worker 1
1910s 2,841 hours per worker 2,841 hours per worker 2,841 hours per worker 1
1920s 2,229 hours per worker 2,229 hours per worker 2,229 hours per worker 1
1930s 2,196 hours per worker 2,196 hours per worker 2,196 hours per worker 1
1950s 2,078 hours per worker 2,033 hours per worker 2,124 hours per worker 10
1960s 1,970 hours per worker 1,917 hours per worker 2,023 hours per worker 10
1970s 1,821 hours per worker 1,742 hours per worker 1,906 hours per worker 10
1980s 1,695 hours per worker 1,664 hours per worker 1,722 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,597 hours per worker 1,573 hours per worker 1,678 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,586 hours per worker 1,564 hours per worker 1,598 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,587 hours per worker 1,578 hours per worker 1,595 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,548 hours per worker 1,459 hours per worker 1,593 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 108 Ethiopia 1,599 hours per worker compare
  2. 109 Malawi 1,596 hours per worker compare
  3. 110 Ecuador 1,594 hours per worker compare
  4. 112 Slovenia 1,588 hours per worker compare
  5. 113 Chad 1,585 hours per worker compare
  6. 114 Rwanda 1,584 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 130 places →

More work & labour data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per worker in Belgium?
Annual working hours per worker in Belgium was 1,593 hours per worker in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual working hours per worker recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 3,483 hours per worker in 1870.
What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 1,459 hours per worker in 2020.
How does Belgium rank for annual working hours per worker?
Belgium ranks 111th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours per worker. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual working hours per worker in Belgium. Statizoid, drawing on Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-working-hours-per-worker/belgium/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours per worker
Unit
hours per worker
Source
Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
130 places, 5,063 data points, 1870–2023
Last refreshed

Average working hours per worker in a given year.