Denmark vs Germany: Annual working hours vs. productivity

Denmark
1,380 hours per worker
in 2023
Germany
1,335 hours per worker
in 2023
Denmark rank
128th
Germany rank
129th

Annual working hours vs. productivity over time

  • Denmark
  • Germany
05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k195019862023

How they compare

Denmark currently reports 1,380 hours per worker against 1,335 hours per worker in Germany, a difference of 45 hours per worker.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Germany ahead.

Denmark ranks 128th and Germany ranks 129th of 129 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 3 and Germany in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Denmark Germany Difference Ahead
1950s 1,986 hours per worker 2,314 hours per worker 328.71 hours per worker Germany
1960s 1,935 hours per worker 2,080 hours per worker 144.36 hours per worker Germany
1970s 1,679 hours per worker 1,857 hours per worker 178.43 hours per worker Germany
1980s 1,524 hours per worker 1,682 hours per worker 158.17 hours per worker Germany
1990s 1,434 hours per worker 1,532 hours per worker 97.48 hours per worker Germany
2000s 1,450 hours per worker 1,445 hours per worker 5.2 hours per worker Denmark
2010s 1,410 hours per worker 1,399 hours per worker 10.53 hours per worker Denmark
2020s 1,374 hours per worker 1,333 hours per worker 40.91 hours per worker Denmark

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual working hours vs. productivity, Denmark or Germany?
Denmark, at 1,380 hours per worker against 1,335 hours per worker in Germany as of 2023.
What is the difference in annual working hours vs. productivity between Denmark and Germany?
45 hours per worker, with Denmark ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Germany?
74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do Denmark and Germany rank globally for annual working hours vs. productivity?
Denmark ranks 128th and Germany ranks 129th of 129 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual working hours vs. productivity. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours vs. productivity
Unit
hours per worker
Source
Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
129 places, 4,891 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

This is the average sum of hours worked by employees and self-employed people during each year in a country.