Data for 2018

Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018

Name: Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

2018, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018 covers 187 countries on 3 measures. United Arab Emirates is highest, at 51.76; Netherlands is lowest, at 27.27. The middle country reads 39.20. Against 2017, 185 values changed (91 up, 94 down), the same countries are covered.

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Average Weekly Hours Worked · Data for 2018

HighestUnited Arab Emirates

51.76

LowestNetherlands

27.27

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

187countries
3measures per country
2018the year it describes
177distinct values2 decimals, as published
Sep 29, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	51.76	53.33	51.36	Real value
2	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	51.17	49.85	52.03	Real value
3	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	50.41	47.02	53.11	—
4	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	50.06	44.13	51.70	—
5	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	49.59	47.75	51.01	—
6	India`IND`Southern Asia	49.53	41.89	52.02	—
=7	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	48.64	49.39	48.52	—
=7	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	48.64	49.76	47.58	—
9	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	48.47	48.08	48.84	—
10	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	47.27	45.49	48.92	—
11	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	46.96	36.50	50.39	—
12	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	46.76	34.08	50.06	Real value
13	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	46.72	39.26	49.83	—
14	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	46.68	37.61	51.09	—
15	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	46.58	45.39	47.36	Real value
16	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	46.57	42.63	47.35	Real value
17	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	46.40	43.18	49.34	—
18	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	46.34	42.41	47.56	—
19	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	45.78	45.91	45.65	—
20	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	45.76	42.49	47.91	—
21	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	45.62	43.47	47.28	—
22	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	45.61	40.49	46.34	—
=23	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	45.57	40.84	46.64	Real value
=23	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	45.57	43.94	46.63	Real value
25	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	45.56	44.80	46.19	—
26	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	45.49	45.23	45.74	—
27	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	45.13	42.49	47.47	—
28	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	45.04	42.58	47.04	—
29	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	45.00	43.24	46.04	Real value
30	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	44.71	39.76	46.96	Real value
31	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	44.58	34.83	47.62	—
32	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	44.49	40.47	46.34	—
33	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	44.31	41.86	45.18	—
34	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	44.20	41.79	46.01	Real value
35	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	44.18	42.86	44.91	—
36	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	43.62	37.07	47.62	—
37	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	43.59	35.57	45.04	—
38	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	43.33	42.16	44.27	Real value
39	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	43.20	31.27	45.77	Real value
40	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	43.09	41.40	44.44	Real value
41	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	43.08	41.12	45.01	Real value
42	Mexico`MEX`Central America	42.98	37.68	46.23	Real value
43	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	42.96	42.42	43.50	—
44	Belize`BLZ`Central America	42.63	39.47	44.53	Real value
45	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	42.49	42.28	42.66	Real value
=46	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	42.34	38.85	44.24	—
=46	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	42.34	37.06	45.92	Real value
=48	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	42.33	38.99	45.22	Real value
=48	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	42.33	40.05	44.49	Real value
50	Colombia`COL`South America	42.20	37.27	45.55	Real value
51	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	42.12	40.74	43.09	Real value
52	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	42.11	39.51	44.22	Real value
53	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	41.87	36.93	44.26	Real value
54	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	41.75	41.80	41.72	Real value
55	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	41.58	38.82	43.84	—
56	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	41.57	38.77	44.20	—
57	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	41.44	38.64	44.03	—
=58	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	41.29	36.93	42.38	—
=58	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	41.29	39.64	42.93	—
60	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	41.26	41.10	41.40	—
61	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	41.23	39.85	42.54	Real value
62	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	41.21	37.92	43.66	Real value
63	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	41.19	39.76	42.17	Real value
64	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	41.09	37.25	43.75	—
65	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	40.97	40.64	41.25	—
66	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	40.80	40.22	41.28	Real value
67	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	40.77	34.48	44.76	Real value
68	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	40.67	35.26	45.68	—
69	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	40.66	35.57	43.07	—
70	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	40.65	38.28	42.55	Real value
71	Guyana`GUY`South America	40.57	37.24	42.79	Real value
72	Suriname`SUR`South America	40.55	35.87	43.58	—
73	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	40.48	35.87	42.97	—
74	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	40.42	39.42	41.48	—
=75	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	40.39	38.30	42.44	—
=75	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	40.39	37.95	42.55	—
77	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	40.36	34.14	43.03	—
78	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	40.34	35.19	43.33	—
79	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	40.26	35.81	43.48	—
80	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	40.21	37.51	42.68	—
81	Bolivia`BOL`South America	39.96	35.92	43.16	—
82	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	39.93	38.54	40.88	Real value
83	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	39.92	36.64	42.31	—
84	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	39.80	35.68	42.74	—
85	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	39.74	36.94	42.17	—
86	Paraguay`PRY`South America	39.66	36.56	41.79	Real value
87	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	39.57	36.49	42.46	—
88	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	39.53	35.62	41.98	Real value
89	Niger`NER`Western Africa	39.46	33.91	43.35	—
90	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	39.39	36.44	41.69	—
=91	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	39.27	37.15	40.71	—
=91	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	39.27	30.26	41.03	Real value
93	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	39.25	35.93	41.64	Real value
94	Honduras`HND`Central America	39.20	36.47	40.80	Real value
95	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	39.17	36.31	41.78	—
96	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	38.98	36.83	40.73	Real value
97	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	38.97	34.53	42.96	—
98	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	38.91	36.94	40.37	—
99	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	38.87	36.67	39.91	—
100	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	38.83	38.02	39.54	Real value
101	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	38.67	35.60	39.03	—
102	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	38.44	33.48	42.99	Real value
103	Venezuela`VEN`South America	38.41	36.72	39.49	—
104	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	38.40	35.31	40.90	—
105	Peru`PER`South America	38.31	34.52	41.48	—
106	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	38.29	34.45	41.92	—
107	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	38.23	35.88	39.69	Real value
108	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	38.22	35.40	40.06	Real value
109	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	38.17	36.96	39.11	Real value
110	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	37.97	36.48	39.41	—
111	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	37.90	21.86	42.12	—
112	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	37.88	36.46	39.21	Real value
113	Ecuador`ECU`South America	37.83	31.84	41.97	—
114	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	37.76	34.12	40.78	Real value
115	Chile`CHL`South America	37.61	33.94	40.21	Real value
116	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	37.59	33.76	41.18	Real value
117	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	37.55	35.92	39.49	Real value
118	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	37.47	34.14	40.58	—
119	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	37.42	36.40	38.30	—
120	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	37.38	34.48	40.19	—
121	Brazil`BRA`South America	37.28	34.40	39.38	Real value
122	United States`USA`Northern America	36.85	34.15	39.09	Real value
123	Panama`PAN`Central America	36.82	34.28	38.50	Real value
124	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	36.65	35.54	37.76	—
125	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	36.63	33.01	40.31	—
126	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	36.45	35.09	37.63	Real value
127	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	36.09	33.16	38.49	Real value
=128	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	36.06	31.27	40.39	Real value
=128	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	36.06	34.27	37.87	Real value
130	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	35.85	32.85	38.81	—
131	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	35.84	31.96	38.44	Real value
132	Argentina`ARG`South America	35.83	30.14	39.85	Real value
133	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	35.72	33.79	37.30	Real value
134	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	35.69	29.61	39.52	—
135	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	35.57	33.73	37.44	Real value
136	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	35.56	32.56	37.88	—
137	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	35.52	32.96	37.55	Real value
138	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	35.45	32.54	38.32	Real value
=139	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	35.41	33.36	37.40	—
=139	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	35.41	33.08	37.46	Real value
141	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	35.30	33.27	36.97	Real value
142	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	35.11	32.56	36.61	Real value
143	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	35.05	34.49	35.59	—
144	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	34.88	33.09	35.78	—
145	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	34.73	33.01	36.17	Real value
146	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	34.64	34.13	35.10	—
147	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	34.62	33.28	35.94	—
148	Uruguay`URY`South America	34.52	30.79	37.58	—
149	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	34.46	28.92	39.25	Real value
150	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	34.44	33.74	34.94	Real value
151	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	34.35	32.50	36.11	Real value
152	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	34.26	29.74	38.16	Real value
153	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	34.15	30.70	37.09	Real value
154	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	34.11	32.29	35.83	Real value
155	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	33.96	29.48	37.19	Real value
156	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	33.83	30.77	36.53	—
157	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	33.82	30.48	36.57	Real value
158	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	33.53	31.48	35.48	—
159	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	33.52	31.18	35.48	Real value
160	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	33.30	28.29	37.56	Real value
161	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	33.03	29.78	35.88	Real value
162	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	32.90	29.13	36.20	Real value
163	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	32.76	30.48	34.81	—
164	Canada`CAN`Northern America	32.55	29.03	35.70	Real value
165	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	32.32	23.31	33.95	—
166	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	32.31	28.92	34.97	—
167	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	31.83	18.69	33.53	—
168	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	31.79	28.65	34.55	—
169	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	31.68	29.01	33.86	—
170	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	31.34	27.83	34.68	—
171	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	31.25	26.56	35.44	Real value
172	France`FRA`Western Europe	30.92	27.98	33.63	Real value
173	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	30.70	26.21	34.59	Real value
174	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	30.68	25.86	34.90	Real value
=175	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	30.42	27.46	31.42	—
=175	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	30.42	27.92	32.72	Real value
177	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	30.36	26.74	33.69	—
178	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	30.26	25.97	33.22	—
179	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	30.25	26.71	34.11	—
180	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	30.15	26.19	33.22	—
181	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	30.10	27.90	31.01	—
182	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	29.74	27.19	32.05	Real value
183	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	29.65	26.64	32.31	Real value
184	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	28.63	20.53	29.20	—
185	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	28.07	24.85	30.98	Real value
186	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	27.90	27.85	27.94	—
187	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	27.27	22.33	31.59	Real value

02In 2018

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1United Arab Emirates51.76
2Bhutan51.17
3Mongolia50.41
4Sudan50.06
5Lesotho49.59

Lowest

187Netherlands27.27
186Vanuatu27.90
185Norway28.07
184Yemen28.63
183Denmark29.65

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 39.20. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Women (hours)
HighestUnited Arab Emirates53.33
LowestIraq18.69
Middle country: 35.68
Men (hours)
HighestMongolia53.11
LowestVanuatu27.94
Middle country: 41.48

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

What changed between 2017 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
185values changed, of 187 in both
91 · 94rose · fell
2unchanged

Rose most

Armenia35.83 → 38.44+2.61
Georgia35.36 → 37.59+2.23
Vietnam39.74 → 41.23+1.49
Egypt44.16 → 45.57+1.41
Honduras37.99 → 39.20+1.21

Fell most

Myanmar48.27 → 45.57−2.70
Mauritius36.85 → 35.11−1.74
Nigeria42.08 → 40.39−1.69
Uganda32.86 → 31.34−1.52
Iran44.60 → 43.20−1.40

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 2018.
177 distinct values among 187
Values are stored exactly as published, to 2 decimals. 2 countries share 48.64. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
ILO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
99 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
Some readings carry a flag
ILO marks readings it considers estimates or provisional. The flags in this file: Real value.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
187 rows · 8.2 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download weekly-hours-2018-nations-inquiry.csv
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The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator/?id=HOW_2EMP_SEX_NB&format=.csv&channel=ilostat

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

International Labour Organization (ILO) (2018). Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/weekly-hours/2018

0621 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2017
187 countries
The year after ›
Average Weekly Hours Worked, 2019
187 countries
All of them
Average Weekly Hours Worked: every year
21 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions