How much do people really work in Europe’s different countries? The question sounds simple, but the answer depends entirely on what is being measured. Is it the statutory working week, the collectively agreed number of hours, the total number of hours worked per year, or the time people actually spend working during an average week?
New figures from Eurostat show that the Netherlands has the shortest average working week in the EU, while Greece, Bulgaria and Poland are at the other end of the scale. Sweden ranks just below the EU average, but Swedes still work noticeably more than Danes, Norwegians and Finns.
It is tempting to draw simple conclusions about which nations work hard and which take life more easily. However, the statistics reveal much more about part-time employment, collective agreements, family policy, economic structure and the organisation of the labour market than they do about national work ethic.
The Netherlands Works the Least — Bulgaria Among the Most
According to Eurostat’s statistics for 2025, people aged 20 to 64 worked an average of 35.9 hours per week across the European Union. This represents a decrease from 36.9 hours in 2015.
The differences between countries are significant. The Netherlands had the shortest average working week at 31.9 hours. Denmark, Norway and Germany followed at 33.9 hours. Austria recorded 34 hours, Belgium 34.3 and Finland 34.7 hours.
Sweden came in at 35.4 hours — half an hour below the EU average but approximately one and a half hours above Denmark and Norway. Compared with Finland, Swedes work around 42 minutes more per week.
At the opposite end of the table is Greece, where the average working week is 39.6 hours. Bulgaria and Poland follow at 38.7 hours, with Lithuania at 38.4 hours. The difference between the Netherlands and Greece is therefore almost eight hours per week — the equivalent of an entire working day.
Sweden does not rank particularly high when compared with the entire EU. However, Swedes work longer hours than their closest Nordic neighbours. Bulgaria, meanwhile, works an average of 3.3 hours more per week than Sweden.
What Does Eurostat Actually Measure?
This is where an important reservation must be introduced. The statistics do not show how many hours people have written into their employment contracts. They show the average number of hours people actually worked in their main job during the survey’s reference weeks.
Both full-time and part-time workers are included. Paid and unpaid overtime are counted, while holidays, sick leave, parental leave, strikes and other absences are not counted as working time. Commuting time between home and the workplace is also excluded.
The annual result is calculated as an average of the year’s four quarters. The data come from the EU Labour Force Survey, or EU-LFS, in which approximately 1.2 million interviews are conducted every quarter across the participating countries.
This makes the statistics relatively comparable because the same central definitions are used in each country. Nevertheless, the figures still tell us more about how the labour market is structured than about how hard an individual full-time employee works.
A country with a large proportion of part-time employees will automatically have a lower average. A country where almost everyone works full-time will have a higher average, even if full-time employees in both countries work approximately the same number of hours.
The Explanation Behind the Netherlands’ Short Working Week
The Netherlands’ figure of 31.9 hours can easily be interpreted as evidence that the country has introduced a general four-day working week. That is not the case.
Instead, the country has an exceptionally high proportion of part-time workers. Around four out of ten employed people work part-time — the highest proportion in the EU. Part-time employment is especially common among women and parents, but it is also more normalised among Dutch men than in many other countries.
The low average does not mean that only a small proportion of the population works. On the contrary, the Netherlands had an employment rate of 83.4% in 2025 — one of the highest in the entire EU. Many people participate in the labour market, but a large proportion of them work fewer hours.
The Dutch example demonstrates that work can be organised differently: more people participate in employment, but not everyone has to work full-time. At the same time, the country has high productivity, relatively high incomes and a competitive economy.
This does not mean that the model is without problems. Part-time employment can result in lower lifetime earnings, smaller pensions and fewer opportunities to reach senior positions. Because women work part-time more frequently than men, the system can also reinforce economic inequalities between the sexes.
Do Swedes Really Work the Most in the Nordic Region?
The claim that Swedes work the most in the Nordic region requires a geographical footnote. Sweden ranks above Denmark, Norway and Finland, but Eurostat’s database places Iceland at approximately 35.7 hours — slightly above Sweden’s 35.4 hours.
If the entire Nordic region is included, Sweden is therefore not in first place. The statement is only correct if the comparison is limited to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.
Nevertheless, the difference between Sweden and its closest neighbours remains interesting. Denmark and Norway are both approximately one and a half hours below Sweden, while Finland is 0.7 hours lower.
Part of the explanation can be found in collective agreements. Denmark and Norway have negotiated shorter working weeks across large parts of their labour markets. In Sweden, the 40-hour week remains the statutory starting point, although many collective agreements include working-time reductions, additional days off or shorter working weeks for particular groups.
Until now, the Swedish model has primarily converted productivity gains into higher wages, consumption and tax revenue. The question is whether a larger proportion of future productivity improvements should instead be taken in the form of time.
Why Do Bulgaria and Greece Work Longer Hours?
Bulgaria has an average working week of 38.7 hours — more than three hours longer than Sweden and almost seven hours longer than the Netherlands. But this does not automatically mean that Bulgarians have a stronger work ethic than the Dutch.
Part-time employment is uncommon in Bulgaria. Eurostat also shows that 82.8% of employed people who worked during the reference week were in the 40–44.5-hour category. In other words, the Bulgarian labour market is strongly centred around the traditional full-time working week.
The economic structure of each country also plays an important role. Agriculture, construction, manufacturing, tourism, restaurants and various service occupations have different working patterns from digital services, finance, public administration and knowledge-intensive industries.
Across the EU, people employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing worked an average of 41.2 hours per week. Mining and quarrying stood at 38.9 hours and construction at 38.6 hours. Managers worked an average of 40.6 hours. Self-employed people with employees had a usual working week of no less than 46.4 hours.
Countries with many self-employed people, farmers and small family-owned businesses therefore often record higher averages than economies where a larger proportion of people are employed by major organisations.
More Working Hours Do Not Automatically Mean Higher Output
It is easy to confuse working time with productivity. But the number of hours only tells us how long people work — not how much value they create during each hour.
One person can work 40 hours using outdated systems, poor organisation, unclear decision-making and unnecessary meetings. Another can produce the same result in 32 hours with better technology, greater independence and clearer working processes.
Long working weeks can sometimes reflect high ambition, but they can also be a symptom of low productivity, insufficient investment, weak bargaining power or a culture in which presence is valued more highly than results.
Euronews’ analysis of Eurostat’s figures identifies collective agreements, part-time employment, company structures, the distribution of economic sectors and workers’ bargaining power as central explanations for the differences.
Working less is therefore not necessarily the same as producing less. However, reducing working hours does not automatically create higher productivity. If staffing, technology and working methods remain unchanged, the result could be higher costs, greater pressure on employees or poorer services.
Sweden Faces a Strategic Choice
The truly interesting question is not whether Swedes work a lot or a little. The question is how Sweden wants to use future technological and economic development.
Artificial intelligence, automation and digitalisation can make it possible to complete certain tasks more quickly. But if the time saved is immediately filled with additional tasks, technology will not give people greater freedom. It will simply increase the pace of work.
Sweden has an ageing population and significant recruitment needs in healthcare, social care, education and other essential public services. In these areas, working hours cannot simply be reduced without discussing staffing and financing. At the same time, stress, sickness absence and insufficient recovery are already major problems.
The debate therefore needs to move beyond a simple conflict between the 40-hour week and the four-day week. Different professions may require different solutions: shorter working days, fewer working days, longer periods of continuous leave, individual working-time accounts or gradual reductions negotiated through collective agreements.
The Most Important Message in the Statistics
Eurostat’s figures show that the European labour market does not follow a single model. The Netherlands combines a high proportion of part-time workers with broad participation in the labour market. Denmark and Norway have shorter collectively agreed working arrangements. Sweden works more than its closest neighbours but less than the EU average. Bulgaria and Greece retain longer and more traditional full-time working weeks.
None of these figures can independently determine which country has the best system.
Ultimately, working time is about how a society distributes production, income, responsibility and leisure. It is an economic question, but also one of quality of life and the role work should play in people’s lives.
The most important conclusion may therefore not be that the Dutch work the least or that Greeks and Bulgarians work the most. It is that Europe’s countries have made different choices — and that Sweden can also choose differently.
Sources: Eurostat’s news release, Eurostat’s complete database, Eurostat’s methodology and statistics page, EU Labour Force Survey and Euronews’ comparison.
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