Statizoid

Annual working hours per worker in Germany

Germany: Annual working hours per worker was 1,335 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,335 hours per worker
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
130th
of 130 countries
All-time high
3,284 hours per worker
in 1870
All-time low
1,314 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
81
1870–2023

Annual working hours per worker in Germany, 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

Germany recorded 1,335 hours per worker for annual working hours per worker in 2023.

The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Germany peaked at 3,284 hours per worker in 1870 and was at its lowest, 1,314 hours per worker, in 2020.

Germany ranks 130th 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 Germany, year by year

Year hours per worker Change
1870 3,284 hours per worker —
1880 3,223 hours per worker -1.9%
1890 3,108 hours per worker -3.6%
1900 3,056 hours per worker -1.7%
1913 2,723 hours per worker -10.9%
1929 2,128 hours per worker -21.9%
1938 2,187 hours per worker +2.8%
1950 2,427 hours per worker +11.0%
1951 2,402 hours per worker -1.1%
1952 2,376 hours per worker -1.1%
1953 2,351 hours per worker -1.1%
1954 2,326 hours per worker -1.1%
1955 2,301 hours per worker -1.1%
1956 2,276 hours per worker -1.1%
1957 2,252 hours per worker -1.1%
1958 2,228 hours per worker -1.1%
1959 2,205 hours per worker -1.1%
1960 2,181 hours per worker -1.1%
1961 2,154 hours per worker -1.2%
1962 2,117 hours per worker -1.7%
1963 2,087 hours per worker -1.4%
1964 2,098 hours per worker +0.6%
1965 2,084 hours per worker -0.7%
1966 2,058 hours per worker -1.3%
1967 2,020 hours per worker -1.8%
1968 2,008 hours per worker -0.6%
1969 1,988 hours per worker -1.0%
1970 1,972 hours per worker -0.8%
1971 1,941 hours per worker -1.6%
1972 1,915 hours per worker -1.3%
1973 1,885 hours per worker -1.6%
1974 1,852 hours per worker -1.8%
1975 1,812 hours per worker -2.1%
1976 1,824 hours per worker +0.7%
1977 1,806 hours per worker -1.0%
1978 1,787 hours per worker -1.1%
1979 1,775 hours per worker -0.7%
1980 1,756 hours per worker -1.1%
1981 1,734 hours per worker -1.3%
1982 1,723 hours per worker -0.6%
1983 1,710 hours per worker -0.8%
1984 1,699 hours per worker -0.6%
1985 1,676 hours per worker -1.4%
1986 1,657 hours per worker -1.1%
1987 1,634 hours per worker -1.4%
1988 1,629 hours per worker -0.3%
1989 1,606 hours per worker -1.4%
1990 1,583 hours per worker -1.4%
1991 1,554 hours per worker -1.8%
1992 1,565 hours per worker +0.7%
1993 1,539 hours per worker -1.7%
1994 1,534 hours per worker -0.3%
1995 1,529 hours per worker -0.3%
1996 1,516 hours per worker -0.9%
1997 1,506 hours per worker -0.6%
1998 1,503 hours per worker -0.2%
1999 1,490 hours per worker -0.8%
2000 1,465 hours per worker -1.7%
2001 1,457 hours per worker -0.5%
2002 1,448 hours per worker -0.6%
2003 1,443 hours per worker -0.4%
2004 1,443 hours per worker -0.0%
2005 1,432 hours per worker -0.7%
2006 1,452 hours per worker +1.4%
2007 1,454 hours per worker +0.1%
2008 1,447 hours per worker -0.5%
2009 1,407 hours per worker -2.8%
2010 1,425 hours per worker +1.3%
2011 1,427 hours per worker +0.1%
2012 1,406 hours per worker -1.5%
2013 1,396 hours per worker -0.7%
2014 1,400 hours per worker +0.3%
2015 1,402 hours per worker +0.1%
2016 1,396 hours per worker -0.4%
2017 1,388 hours per worker -0.5%
2018 1,381 hours per worker -0.5%
2019 1,372 hours per worker -0.6%
2020 1,314 hours per worker -4.3%
2021 1,342 hours per worker +2.2%
2022 1,340 hours per worker -0.1%
2023 1,335 hours per worker -0.4%

Germany compared with similar countries

  • Germany's 1,335 hours per worker is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,668 hours per worker, 80% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
  • Germany's 1,335 hours per worker is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,735 hours per worker, 77% of the median. (47 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 3,284 hours per worker 3,284 hours per worker 3,284 hours per worker 1
1880s 3,223 hours per worker 3,223 hours per worker 3,223 hours per worker 1
1890s 3,108 hours per worker 3,108 hours per worker 3,108 hours per worker 1
1900s 3,056 hours per worker 3,056 hours per worker 3,056 hours per worker 1
1910s 2,723 hours per worker 2,723 hours per worker 2,723 hours per worker 1
1920s 2,128 hours per worker 2,128 hours per worker 2,128 hours per worker 1
1930s 2,187 hours per worker 2,187 hours per worker 2,187 hours per worker 1
1950s 2,314 hours per worker 2,205 hours per worker 2,427 hours per worker 10
1960s 2,080 hours per worker 1,988 hours per worker 2,181 hours per worker 10
1970s 1,857 hours per worker 1,775 hours per worker 1,972 hours per worker 10
1980s 1,682 hours per worker 1,606 hours per worker 1,756 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,532 hours per worker 1,490 hours per worker 1,583 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,445 hours per worker 1,407 hours per worker 1,465 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,399 hours per worker 1,372 hours per worker 1,427 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,333 hours per worker 1,314 hours per worker 1,342 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 127 Norway 1,412 hours per worker compare
  2. 128 Yemen 1,382 hours per worker compare
  3. 129 Denmark 1,380 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 130 places →

More work & labour data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per worker in Germany?
Annual working hours per worker in Germany was 1,335 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 3,284 hours per worker in 1870.
What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 1,314 hours per worker in 2020.
How does Germany rank for annual working hours per worker?
Germany ranks 130th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Germany 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 Germany. Statizoid, drawing on Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-working-hours-per-worker/germany/

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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.