Total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Total weekly hours worked of employed persons was 20.42 million in 2027. ▲ Rising

Latest (2027)
20.42 million
Change on year
up 2.9%
Rank
20th
of 87 groups
All-time high
20.42 million
in 2027
All-time low
10.61 million
in 2005
Years of data
23
2005–2027

Total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2005–2027

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2005201620272005: 10.6M2006: 10.9M2007: 11.3M2008: 11.6M2009: 11.8M2010: 12.1M2011: 12.5M2012: 12.9M2013: 13.4M2014: 13.8M2015: 14.2M2016: 14.7M2017: 14.9M2018: 15.2M2019: 15.4M2020: 15.1M2021: 16.3M2022: 17.4M2023: 18.1M2024: 18.7M2025: 19.3M2026: 19.8M2027: 20.4M

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

The most recent figure for total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa is 20.42 million, measured in 2027. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 36.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 20.42 million in 2027 and was at its lowest, 10.61 million, in 2005.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th of 87 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Total weekly hours worked of employed persons (ILO modelled estimates) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2005 to 2027.
Year Value Change
2005 10.61 million
2006 10.93 million +3.1%
2007 11.27 million +3.1%
2008 11.56 million +2.6%
2009 11.83 million +2.4%
2010 12.11 million +2.4%
2011 12.48 million +3.1%
2012 12.88 million +3.2%
2013 13.40 million +4.1%
2014 13.79 million +2.9%
2015 14.24 million +3.2%
2016 14.72 million +3.4%
2017 14.94 million +1.5%
2018 15.18 million +1.6%
2019 15.41 million +1.6%
2020 15.12 million -1.9%
2021 16.26 million +7.5%
2022 17.41 million +7.0%
2023 18.11 million +4.0%
2024 18.73 million +3.5%
2025 19.28 million +2.9%
2026 19.85 million +2.9%
2027 20.42 million +2.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.24 million 10.61 million 11.83 million 5
2010s 13.92 million 12.11 million 15.41 million 10
2020s 18.15 million 15.12 million 20.42 million 8

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 17 Türkiye 1.50 million compare
  2. 18 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1.44 million compare
  3. 19 Tanzania, United Republic of 1.43 million compare
  4. 20 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1.26 million compare
  5. 21 Germany 1.23 million compare
  6. 22 Colombia 1.08 million compare
  7. 23 Korea 1.08 million compare

See the full ranking of 276 places →

More work & labour data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa was 20.42 million in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest total weekly hours worked of employed persons recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 20.42 million in 2027.
What is the lowest total weekly hours worked of employed persons recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 10.61 million in 2005.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for total weekly hours worked of employed persons?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is total weekly hours worked of employed persons rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Total weekly hours worked of employed persons (ILO modelled estimates). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Total weekly hours worked of employed persons in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/total-weekly-hours-worked-of-employed-persons-ilo-modelled-estimates/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Total weekly hours worked of employed persons (ILO modelled estimates)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
276 places, 6,324 data points, 2005–2027
Last refreshed

Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings.This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. This indicator refers to total weekly hours actually worked of employed persons in their main job. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.