Annual working hours per worker in Netherlands
Netherlands: Annual working hours per worker was 1,439 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1,439 hours per worker
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
124th
of 130 countries
All-time high
3,274 hours per worker
in 1870
All-time low
1,402 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
80
1870–2023
Annual working hours per worker in Netherlands, 1870–2023
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
In 2023, annual working hours per worker in Netherlands stood at 1,439 hours per worker.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Netherlands peaked at 3,274 hours per worker in 1870 and was at its lowest, 1,402 hours per worker, in 2020.
That places Netherlands 124th out of 130 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 80 years of available data.
Annual working hours per worker in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | hours per worker | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 3,274 hours per worker | — |
| 1880 | 3,194 hours per worker | -2.4% |
| 1890 | 3,105 hours per worker | -2.8% |
| 1900 | 3,037 hours per worker | -2.2% |
| 1913 | 2,942 hours per worker | -3.1% |
| 1929 | 2,233 hours per worker | -24.1% |
| 1938 | 2,281 hours per worker | +2.1% |
| 1950 | 1,972 hours per worker | -13.5% |
| 1951 | 1,983 hours per worker | +0.5% |
| 1952 | 1,989 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 1953 | 2,010 hours per worker | +1.1% |
| 1954 | 2,036 hours per worker | +1.3% |
| 1955 | 2,057 hours per worker | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 2,074 hours per worker | +0.8% |
| 1957 | 2,089 hours per worker | +0.7% |
| 1958 | 2,093 hours per worker | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 2,106 hours per worker | +0.6% |
| 1960 | 2,104 hours per worker | -0.1% |
| 1961 | 2,056 hours per worker | -2.3% |
| 1962 | 2,006 hours per worker | -2.4% |
| 1963 | 1,975 hours per worker | -1.5% |
| 1964 | 1,957 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 1,952 hours per worker | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 1,947 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 1,930 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1968 | 1,907 hours per worker | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 1,850 hours per worker | -3.0% |
| 1971 | 1,816 hours per worker | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 1,815 hours per worker | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 1,788 hours per worker | -1.5% |
| 1974 | 1,734 hours per worker | -3.0% |
| 1975 | 1,681 hours per worker | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 1,665 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 1,644 hours per worker | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 1,615 hours per worker | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 1,594 hours per worker | -1.3% |
| 1980 | 1,591 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 1,590 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 1,576 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 1,561 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 1,553 hours per worker | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 1,536 hours per worker | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 1,521 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 1,499 hours per worker | -1.4% |
| 1988 | 1,496 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 1,491 hours per worker | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 1,486 hours per worker | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 1,476 hours per worker | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 1,483 hours per worker | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 1,472 hours per worker | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 1,480 hours per worker | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 1,491 hours per worker | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 1,506 hours per worker | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 1,492 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 1,489 hours per worker | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 1,487 hours per worker | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 1,474 hours per worker | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 1,464 hours per worker | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 1,446 hours per worker | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 1,437 hours per worker | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 1,458 hours per worker | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 1,444 hours per worker | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 1,440 hours per worker | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 1,440 hours per worker | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 1,439 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 1,431 hours per worker | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 1,430 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 1,431 hours per worker | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1,422 hours per worker | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 1,427 hours per worker | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 1,439 hours per worker | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 1,438 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 1,451 hours per worker | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 1,451 hours per worker | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1,451 hours per worker | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 1,457 hours per worker | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 1,402 hours per worker | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 1,442 hours per worker | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 1,443 hours per worker | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1,439 hours per worker | -0.3% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 1,439 hours per worker is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,668 hours per worker, 86% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 1,439 hours per worker is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,735 hours per worker, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 3,274 hours per worker | 3,274 hours per worker | 3,274 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1880s | 3,194 hours per worker | 3,194 hours per worker | 3,194 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1890s | 3,105 hours per worker | 3,105 hours per worker | 3,105 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1900s | 3,037 hours per worker | 3,037 hours per worker | 3,037 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1910s | 2,942 hours per worker | 2,942 hours per worker | 2,942 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1920s | 2,233 hours per worker | 2,233 hours per worker | 2,233 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1930s | 2,281 hours per worker | 2,281 hours per worker | 2,281 hours per worker | 1 |
| 1950s | 2,041 hours per worker | 1,972 hours per worker | 2,106 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1960s | 1,981 hours per worker | 1,907 hours per worker | 2,104 hours per worker | 9 |
| 1970s | 1,720 hours per worker | 1,594 hours per worker | 1,850 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1980s | 1,541 hours per worker | 1,491 hours per worker | 1,591 hours per worker | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,486 hours per worker | 1,472 hours per worker | 1,506 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,447 hours per worker | 1,431 hours per worker | 1,474 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,440 hours per worker | 1,422 hours per worker | 1,457 hours per worker | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,431 hours per worker | 1,402 hours per worker | 1,443 hours per worker | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More work & labour data for Netherlands
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 5,256 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.71 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 10,535 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.03 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.834 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 130,584 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 94,797 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 64.03 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.4 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.1112 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual working hours per worker in Netherlands?
- Annual working hours per worker in Netherlands was 1,439 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 3,274 hours per worker in 1870.
- What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,402 hours per worker in 2020.
- How does Netherlands rank for annual working hours per worker?
- Netherlands ranks 124th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
- Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands 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 — 80 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.