Annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany

Germany: Annual working hours vs. productivity was 1,335 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,335 hours per worker
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
129th
of 129 countries
All-time high
2,427 hours per worker
in 1950
All-time low
1,314 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany, 1950–2023

05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k195019862023

Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hours per worker.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany is 1,335 hours per worker, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany peaked at 2,427 hours per worker in 1950 and was at its lowest, 1,314 hours per worker, in 2020.

Germany ranks 129th of 129 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 2,314 hours per worker 2,205 hours per worker 2,427 hours per worker 10
1960s 2,080 hours per worker 1,988 hours per worker 2,181 hours per worker 10
1970s 1,857 hours per worker 1,775 hours per worker 1,972 hours per worker 10
1980s 1,682 hours per worker 1,606 hours per worker 1,756 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,532 hours per worker 1,490 hours per worker 1,583 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,445 hours per worker 1,407 hours per worker 1,465 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,399 hours per worker 1,372 hours per worker 1,427 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,333 hours per worker 1,314 hours per worker 1,342 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 126 Norway 1,412 hours per worker compare
  2. 127 Yemen 1,382 hours per worker compare
  3. 128 Denmark 1,380 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 129 places →

More economy & growth data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany?
Annual working hours vs. productivity in Germany was 1,335 hours per worker in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual working hours vs. productivity recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 2,427 hours per worker in 1950.
What is the lowest annual working hours vs. productivity recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 1,314 hours per worker in 2020.
How does Germany rank for annual working hours vs. productivity?
Germany ranks 129th out of 129 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours vs. productivity rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours vs. productivity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.