Statizoid

Annual working hours per worker in Ireland

Ireland: Annual working hours per worker was 1,654 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,654 hours per worker
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
96th
of 130 countries
All-time high
3,108 hours per worker
in 1870
All-time low
1,636 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
81
1870–2023

Annual working hours per worker in Ireland, 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

In 2023, annual working hours per worker in Ireland stood at 1,654 hours per worker.

The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Ireland peaked at 3,108 hours per worker in 1870 and was at its lowest, 1,636 hours per worker, in 2020.

Ireland ranks 96th of 130 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Annual working hours per worker in Ireland, year by year

Year hours per worker Change
1870 3,108 hours per worker —
1880 3,017 hours per worker -2.9%
1890 2,869 hours per worker -4.9%
1900 2,795 hours per worker -2.6%
1913 2,690 hours per worker -3.8%
1929 2,182 hours per worker -18.9%
1938 2,171 hours per worker -0.5%
1950 2,445 hours per worker +12.6%
1951 2,433 hours per worker -0.5%
1952 2,421 hours per worker -0.5%
1953 2,410 hours per worker -0.5%
1954 2,398 hours per worker -0.5%
1955 2,386 hours per worker -0.5%
1956 2,374 hours per worker -0.5%
1957 2,363 hours per worker -0.5%
1958 2,351 hours per worker -0.5%
1959 2,340 hours per worker -0.5%
1960 2,328 hours per worker -0.5%
1961 2,331 hours per worker +0.1%
1962 2,334 hours per worker +0.1%
1963 2,337 hours per worker +0.1%
1964 2,340 hours per worker +0.1%
1965 2,343 hours per worker +0.1%
1966 2,347 hours per worker +0.1%
1967 2,350 hours per worker +0.1%
1968 2,353 hours per worker +0.1%
1969 2,356 hours per worker +0.1%
1970 2,359 hours per worker +0.1%
1971 2,342 hours per worker -0.7%
1972 2,321 hours per worker -0.9%
1973 2,309 hours per worker -0.5%
1974 2,272 hours per worker -1.6%
1975 2,262 hours per worker -0.4%
1976 2,256 hours per worker -0.2%
1977 2,226 hours per worker -1.3%
1978 2,206 hours per worker -0.9%
1979 2,184 hours per worker -1.0%
1980 2,145 hours per worker -1.8%
1981 2,113 hours per worker -1.5%
1982 2,106 hours per worker -0.4%
1983 2,095 hours per worker -0.5%
1984 2,077 hours per worker -0.9%
1985 2,084 hours per worker +0.3%
1986 2,119 hours per worker +1.7%
1987 2,098 hours per worker -1.0%
1988 2,107 hours per worker +0.4%
1989 2,114 hours per worker +0.4%
1990 2,103 hours per worker -0.6%
1991 2,067 hours per worker -1.7%
1992 2,018 hours per worker -2.4%
1993 1,991 hours per worker -1.3%
1994 1,991 hours per worker +0.0%
1995 1,983 hours per worker -0.4%
1996 1,965 hours per worker -0.9%
1997 1,940 hours per worker -1.2%
1998 1,917 hours per worker -1.2%
1999 1,906 hours per worker -0.6%
2000 1,893 hours per worker -0.7%
2001 1,871 hours per worker -1.2%
2002 1,855 hours per worker -0.8%
2003 1,823 hours per worker -1.7%
2004 1,809 hours per worker -0.8%
2005 1,811 hours per worker +0.1%
2006 1,790 hours per worker -1.1%
2007 1,765 hours per worker -1.4%
2008 1,731 hours per worker -1.9%
2009 1,678 hours per worker -3.0%
2010 1,681 hours per worker +0.2%
2011 1,683 hours per worker +0.2%
2012 1,678 hours per worker -0.3%
2013 1,697 hours per worker +1.1%
2014 1,707 hours per worker +0.6%
2015 1,699 hours per worker -0.5%
2016 1,723 hours per worker +1.4%
2017 1,745 hours per worker +1.3%
2018 1,758 hours per worker +0.8%
2019 1,760 hours per worker +0.1%
2020 1,636 hours per worker -7.1%
2021 1,650 hours per worker +0.9%
2022 1,683 hours per worker +1.9%
2023 1,654 hours per worker -1.7%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 1,654 hours per worker is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,668 hours per worker, 99% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 1,654 hours per worker is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,735 hours per worker, 95% of the median. (47 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 3,108 hours per worker 3,108 hours per worker 3,108 hours per worker 1
1880s 3,017 hours per worker 3,017 hours per worker 3,017 hours per worker 1
1890s 2,869 hours per worker 2,869 hours per worker 2,869 hours per worker 1
1900s 2,795 hours per worker 2,795 hours per worker 2,795 hours per worker 1
1910s 2,690 hours per worker 2,690 hours per worker 2,690 hours per worker 1
1920s 2,182 hours per worker 2,182 hours per worker 2,182 hours per worker 1
1930s 2,171 hours per worker 2,171 hours per worker 2,171 hours per worker 1
1950s 2,392 hours per worker 2,340 hours per worker 2,445 hours per worker 10
1960s 2,342 hours per worker 2,328 hours per worker 2,356 hours per worker 10
1970s 2,274 hours per worker 2,184 hours per worker 2,359 hours per worker 10
1980s 2,106 hours per worker 2,077 hours per worker 2,145 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,988 hours per worker 1,906 hours per worker 2,103 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,803 hours per worker 1,678 hours per worker 1,893 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,713 hours per worker 1,678 hours per worker 1,760 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,656 hours per worker 1,636 hours per worker 1,683 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 93 Hungary 1,668 hours per worker compare
  2. 94 Bulgaria 1,659 hours per worker compare
  3. 95 Ghana 1,656 hours per worker compare
  4. 97 Japan 1,654 hours per worker compare
  5. 98 Lithuania 1,640 hours per worker compare
  6. 99 Spain 1,638 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 130 places →

More work & labour data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per worker in Ireland?
Annual working hours per worker in Ireland was 1,654 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 Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 3,108 hours per worker in 1870.
What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 1,636 hours per worker in 2020.
How does Ireland rank for annual working hours per worker?
Ireland ranks 96th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ireland 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 Ireland. 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/ireland/

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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.