Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — Share of in South Africa
South Africa: Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — Share of was 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status in 2025. ▼ Falling
Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — Share of in South Africa, 2008–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status.
Analysis
In 2025, incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of in South Africa stood at 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status. That is the lowest value across all 18 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 20.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of in South Africa peaked at 27.47 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status in 2008 and was at its lowest, 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status, in 2025.
That places South Africa 4th out of 40 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — Share of in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 27.47 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | — |
| 2009 | 24.88 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -9.4% |
| 2010 | 23.65 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -4.9% |
| 2011 | 23.43 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 22.67 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 22.16 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 21.55 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 21.96 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 22.05 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 21.57 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 21.06 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 20.93 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 18.8 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -10.2% |
| 2021 | 17.78 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 18.36 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 18.96 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 17.82 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -6.0% |
| 2025 | 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | -1.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status, 1.0× the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.18 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 24.88 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 27.47 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 2 |
| 2010s | 22.1 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 20.93 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 23.65 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.2 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 18.96 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 1 Türkiye 26.21 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 1 Mexico 25.05 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 2 Indonesia 23.09 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 3 Poland 7.12 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 3 Colombia 20.54 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 3 Croatia 2.91 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 5 Argentina 16.89 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 6 Costa Rica 14.4 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 7 Netherlands 4.93 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
- 7 Namibia 14.37 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status compare
More work & labour data for South Africa
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.2264 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.242 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.2122 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.23 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.8748 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 58,057 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 14,698 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 49,126 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 45,189 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 94,314 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of in South Africa?
- Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of in South Africa was 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 27.47 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status in 2008.
- What is the lowest incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.49 Percentage of workers in the same age, sex and employment status in 2025.
- How does South Africa rank for incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of?
- South Africa ranks 4th out of 40 countries with data for 2025.
- Is incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — share of rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of employment by long usual weekly hours worked — Share of employment in the hour band. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
This dataset contains the share of employment by long hour bands (50 and over, 60 and over) for usual weekly hours worked in the main job. Actual hours of work instead of usual hours of work are only available in some countries (Japan and Korea). Data are broken down by professional status - employees, total employment - by sex and age groups. Detailed notes and sources can be found in LFS_NOTES_SOURCES. In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates.