Turkey has the longest working week in Europe, according to a report published by Eurostat, the official statistics office of the European Union, which reveals significant differences in working hours across the continent and notes that Turks work the longest hours, averaging 42.4 hours per week.
According to the figures from the study, which include both full-time and part-time workers aged between 20 and 64 in their main job, the actual average weekly working time in the EU stood at 35.9 hours. Taking into account both the countries that are members of the European bloc and those in the process of joining the Union – such as Turkey – working hours range from an average of 31.9 hours in the Netherlands to 42.4 hours in Türkiye.
When the ranking includes not only EU candidate countries but also members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Turkey also tops the list in Europe with 42.4 hours per week; it is closely followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina – with 40.9 hours – and Serbia, with 40.6 hours. These three countries are in fact the only ones where the weekly average exceeds 40 hours, implying working days of more than eight hours in a five-day working week.
Behind them in the ranking are Greece (39.6 hours), North Macedonia (39.5 hours) and Bulgaria (38.7 hours). Overall, the Balkans clearly stand out as the European region with the longest working weeks on the entire continent.
The Netherlands, with fewer than 32 hours per week, is where people work the least
At the opposite end of the scale, the Netherlands tops the list of European countries with the fewest hours worked, with an average of just 31.9 hours per week, although it should be noted that part-time workers account for approximately 43% of total employment in the Netherlands: a figure far higher than in any other EU Member State. Furthermore, this country has one of the shortest working weeks thanks to the collective agreements in force.
After the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Denmark follow in the ranking of European countries where people work the least, with an average of 33.9 hours per week: in other words, the Dutch work approximately two hours less per week than employees in neighbouring countries.
Other countries where the average working week remains below 35 hours are Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3) and Finland (34.7). That is: in these seven countries, the average working time is less than seven hours a day in a five-day working week.
In the UK, the average is 36.5 hours per week
On the other hand, when comparing the four largest economies in the EU, Germany has the shortest working week, at 33.9 hours, as German workers spend 1.7 hours less per week on work than their counterparts in France, where the average working week stands at 35.6 hours.
Even so, the French work fewer hours than the Spaniards, as the average working week in Spain is 36.3 hours, whilst in Italy it is slightly lower (36 hours). In the case of the United Kingdom, the British work an average of 36.5 hours a week.
In other parts of Europe, the average working week is also shorter than in Turkey; this is the case in Poland, where the average weekly working hours are 38.7, in Romania (38.2), in the Czech Republic (37.5), in Hungary (37.4), in Switzerland (35.9), in Sweden (35.4) and in Ireland (35.1). Generally speaking, it can be concluded that countries in northern and western Europe tend to have shorter working weeks than those in eastern and central Europe.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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