Annual working hours per worker in Japan
Japan: Annual working hours per worker was 1,654 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1,654 hours per worker
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
97th
of 130 countries
All-time high
2,224 hours per worker
in 1961
All-time low
1,646 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Annual working hours per worker in Japan, 1950–2023
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
Japan recorded 1,654 hours per worker for annual working hours per worker in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Japan peaked at 2,224 hours per worker in 1961 and was at its lowest, 1,646 hours per worker, in 2020.
That places Japan 97th out of 130 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Annual working hours per worker in Japan, year by year
| Year | hours per worker | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,076 hours per worker | — |
| 1951 | 2,058 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1952 | 2,041 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1953 | 2,023 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1954 | 2,054 hours per worker | +1.5% |
| 1955 | 2,080 hours per worker | +1.3% |
| 1956 | 2,132 hours per worker | +2.5% |
| 1957 | 2,155 hours per worker | +1.1% |
| 1958 | 2,181 hours per worker | +1.2% |
| 1959 | 2,205 hours per worker | +1.1% |
| 1960 | 2,222 hours per worker | +0.8% |
| 1961 | 2,224 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 2,201 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 2,195 hours per worker | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 2,202 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 2,183 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1966 | 2,191 hours per worker | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 2,205 hours per worker | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 2,209 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 2,195 hours per worker | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 2,185 hours per worker | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 2,177 hours per worker | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 2,180 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 2,165 hours per worker | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 2,105 hours per worker | -2.8% |
| 1975 | 2,076 hours per worker | -1.4% |
| 1976 | 2,104 hours per worker | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 2,110 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 2,114 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 2,119 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 2,121 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 2,111 hours per worker | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 2,106 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 2,102 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 2,115 hours per worker | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 2,097 hours per worker | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 2,095 hours per worker | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 2,101 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 2,103 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 2,077 hours per worker | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 2,049 hours per worker | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 2,003 hours per worker | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 1,960 hours per worker | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 1,906 hours per worker | -2.8% |
| 1994 | 1,897 hours per worker | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 1,899 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 1,903 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 1,875 hours per worker | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 1,855 hours per worker | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 1,839 hours per worker | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 1,847 hours per worker | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 1,831 hours per worker | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 1,819 hours per worker | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 1,823 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 1,831 hours per worker | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 1,819 hours per worker | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 1,827 hours per worker | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 1,818 hours per worker | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 1,798 hours per worker | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 1,754 hours per worker | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 1,773 hours per worker | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 1,769 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 1,781 hours per worker | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 1,763 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 1,760 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 1,752 hours per worker | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 1,746 hours per worker | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 1,745 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 1,725 hours per worker | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 1,688 hours per worker | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 1,646 hours per worker | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 1,651 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 1,652 hours per worker | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 1,654 hours per worker | +0.1% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan'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)
- Japan's 1,654 hours per worker is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2,169 hours per worker, 76% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2,101 hours per worker | 2,023 hours per worker | 2,205 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1960s | 2,203 hours per worker | 2,183 hours per worker | 2,224 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1970s | 2,134 hours per worker | 2,076 hours per worker | 2,185 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1980s | 2,103 hours per worker | 2,077 hours per worker | 2,121 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,919 hours per worker | 1,839 hours per worker | 2,049 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,817 hours per worker | 1,754 hours per worker | 1,847 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,750 hours per worker | 1,688 hours per worker | 1,781 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,651 hours per worker | 1,646 hours per worker | 1,654 hours per worker | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More work & labour data for Japan
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.4984 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5262 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.4728 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.25 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.4618 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 103,039 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,756 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 39,867 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 36,979 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 76,846 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual working hours per worker in Japan?
- Annual working hours per worker in Japan 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 2,224 hours per worker in 1961.
- What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,646 hours per worker in 2020.
- How does Japan rank for annual working hours per worker?
- Japan ranks 97th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
- Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average working hours per worker in a given year.