Hours of work needed to escape poverty — Working hours needed to escape poverty for a jobless family claiming minimum income benefits by country
This indicator measures the working hours needed to escape poverty for a jobless family claiming minimum income benefits. Calculations for families with children assume 2 children aged 4 and 6 who do not use formal childcare.
What the numbers show
Hours of work needed to escape poverty — Working hours needed to escape poverty for a jobless family claiming minimum income benefits is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 31 Hours per week in Slovenia; the lowest is 8 Hours per week in Japan.
The median across all reporting countries is 20 Hours per week, and the mean is 19.32 Hours per week.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 12 fell. The largest increase was in Luxembourg (up 300.0%), and the largest decrease in Türkiye (down 52.9%).
Hours of work needed to escape poverty — Working hours needed to: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slovenia | 31 Hours per week | 2025 | up 3.3% | falling |
| 1 | Czechia | 26 Hours per week | 2025 | up 8.3% | flat |
| 1 | New Zealand | 26 Hours per week | 2025 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 2 | Estonia | 26 Hours per week | 2025 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 2 | Croatia | 21 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 3 | Cyprus | 25 Hours per week | 2025 | up 8.7% | falling |
| 3 | Latvia | 24 Hours per week | 2025 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 4 | Malta | 24 Hours per week | 2025 | up 9.1% | rising |
| 4 | Norway | 24 Hours per week | 2025 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 4 | Sweden | 24 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | flat |
| 4 | United States of America | 24 Hours per week | 2025 | up 14.3% | rising |
| 4 | Poland | 22 Hours per week | 2025 | down 8.3% | rising |
| 5 | Lithuania | 19 Hours per week | 2025 | down 26.9% | falling |
| 6 | Netherlands | 18 Hours per week | 2024 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 8 | Austria | 23 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 8 | Türkiye | 8 Hours per week | 2025 | down 52.9% | falling |
| 9 | Spain | 21 Hours per week | 2025 | up 23.5% | rising |
| 10 | Italy | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | up 17.6% | falling |
| 10 | Bulgaria | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | down 16.7% | falling |
| 10 | Canada | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 10 | Switzerland | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | down 16.7% | flat |
| 10 | OECD | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 10 | Romania | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 10 | Portugal | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 10 | Hungary | 20 Hours per week | 2025 | down 13.0% | flat |
| 18 | Finland | 19 Hours per week | 2025 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 19 | Ireland | 18 Hours per week | 2025 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 19 | Germany | 18 Hours per week | 2025 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 21 | Iceland | 17 Hours per week | 2025 | down 5.6% | flat |
| 21 | Chile | 17 Hours per week | 2016 | up 6.2% | rising |
| 23 | Israel | 16 Hours per week | 2025 | down 15.8% | rising |
| 24 | Greece | 15 Hours per week | 2025 | up 7.1% | falling |
| 24 | Belgium | 15 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | flat |
| 26 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 14 Hours per week | 2025 | down 6.7% | flat |
| 26 | France | 14 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | falling |
| 28 | Australia | 9 Hours per week | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 29 | Luxembourg | 8 Hours per week | 2025 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 29 | Japan | 8 Hours per week | 2024 | up 166.7% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Slovak Republic 22 Hours per week
- Korea 20 Hours per week
- European Union (28 countries) 18 Hours per week
About this data
This indicator measures the working hours needed to escape poverty for a jobless family claiming minimum income benefits. Calculations for families with children assume 2 children aged 4 and 6 who do not use formal childcare.