Annual working hours per worker in South Africa
South Africa: Annual working hours per worker was 2,181 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling
Annual working hours per worker in South Africa, 2001–2023
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
South Africa recorded 2,181 hours per worker for annual working hours per worker in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in South Africa peaked at 2,399 hours per worker in 2005 and was at its lowest, 2,072 hours per worker, in 2020.
That places South Africa 30th out of 130 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,332 hours per worker | 2,249 hours per worker | 2,399 hours per worker | 9 |
| 2010s | 2,217 hours per worker | 2,191 hours per worker | 2,255 hours per worker | 9 |
| 2020s | 2,148 hours per worker | 2,072 hours per worker | 2,184 hours per worker | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More work & labour data for South Africa
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 55.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 61.7% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 80.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 49.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 60.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 65.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 55.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual working hours per worker in South Africa?
- Annual working hours per worker in South Africa was 2,181 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2,399 hours per worker in 2005.
- What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,072 hours per worker in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for annual working hours per worker?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
- Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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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About this data
Average working hours per worker in a given year.