The movement to a four-day workweek is gaining momentum throughout the world. Many countries have experimented with the idea, among them Spain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Reduced workweeks also are catching on. At least six countries of those tracked by the International Labour Organization have workweeks under 30 hours.
To find the countries that have the shortest workweeks, 24/7 Tempo accessed information from the International Labour Organization, which provides information on working conditions, labor rights, poverty and inequality, unemployment and labor underutilization, and other labor-related issues. Population information was provided by the United States Census Bureau’s International Database. The ILO tracks hours of employees — those working full- or part-time — and employed people, who can be self-employed.
The average American worker ranks about in the middle of the pack at 36.4 hours weekly, according to the ILO. The average U.S. worker is logging more hours than the average laborer in the European Union, who clocks in for 30.2 hours per week, based on data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More workers belong to unions in Europe who seek a more balanced work/life arrangement that includes more family time. Developed countries tend to have shorter workweeks, more vacation time, more worker-friendly regulations, and generous parental leave laws.
Americans may work more than their European counterparts, but not as much as those in South Korea (37.9 hours), China (46.1), and Russia (37.8).
At the other end of the spectrum are the countries whose workweeks are the longest. Four of the five countries tracked by ILO are the African nations Gambia (50.8 hours), Bhutan (50.7), Lesotho (49.8), and Congo (48.6). Laborers in the United Arab Emirates work the longest at 52.6 hours per week. (For another work-related list, click here to read about forgotten jobs — formerly common careers that no longer exist.)
Here are the countries with the shortest workweeks:
Vanuatu
- Avg. hours per week: 24.7
- Population: 313,046
Kiribati
- Avg. hours per week: 27.3
- Population: 115,372
Mozambique
- Avg. hours per week: 28.6
- Population: 32.5 million
Rwanda
- Avg. hours per week: 28.8
- Population: 13.4 million
Austria
- Avg. hours per week: 29.5
- Population: 8.9 million
Ethiopia
- Avg. hours per week: 29.8
- Population: 115.8 million
France
- Avg. hours per week: 30.1
- Population: 68.2 million
Somalia
- Avg. hours per week: 30.1
- Population: 12.7 million
Iraq
- Avg. hours per week: 30.3
- Population: 41.3 million
Federated States of Micronesia
- Avg. hours per week: 30.4
- Population: 100,319
The Netherlands
- Avg. hours per week: 31.3
- Population: 17.7 million
Tuvalu
- Avg. hours per week: 31.3
- Population: 11,639
Canada
- Avg. hours per week: 32.1
- Population: 38.5 million
Australia
- Avg. hours per week: 32.3
- Population: 26.5 million
New Zealand
- Avg. hours per week: 33
- Population: 5.1 million
Réunion
- Avg. hours per week: 33
- Population: 985,177
Tonga
- Avg. hours per week: 33.1
- Population: 105,221
Madagascar
- Avg. hours per week: 33.3
- Population: 28.2 million
Slovakia
- Avg. hours per week: 33.4
- Population: 5.6 million
Norway
- Avg. hours per week: 33.5
- Population: 5.5 million
Cyprus
- Avg. hours per week: 33.8
- Population: 1.3 million
Timor-Leste
- Avg. hours per week: 34
- Population: 1.5 million
Germany
- Avg. hours per week: 34.3
- Population: 84.2 million
Azerbaijan
- Avg. hours per week: 34.4
- Population: 10.6 million
Switzerland
- Avg. hours per week: 34.4
- Population: 8.8 million
- Avg. hours per week: 34.4
- Population: 6.1 million
Ecuador
- Avg. hours per week: 34.5
- Population: 18.1 million
Denmark
- Avg. hours per week: 34.5
- Population: 5.9 million
Panama
- Avg. hours per week: 34.5
- Population: 4.4 million
Uruguay
- Avg. hours per week: 34.6
- Population: 3.4 million