EU Long Working Hours Rate by Country (2025)
EU Long Working Hours Rate in 2025: 6.2 % of employed persons EU-27 average. Greece highest at 11.8, Bulgaria lowest at 0.3.
EU-27 (2025)
6.2
% of employed persons
-0.3pp YoY
Highest
11.8
Greece
Lowest
0.3
Bulgaria
Countries
27
EU member states
Data
| Country | % of employed persons | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | 11.8 | -0.9pp |
| France | 9.4 | -0.3pp |
| Cyprus | 9.1 | -0.9pp |
| Portugal | 9 | -0.2pp |
| Belgium | 8.5 | +0.2pp |
| Ireland | 7.8 | +0.1pp |
| Austria | 7.7 | unchanged |
| Italy | 7 | -0.8pp |
| Poland | 6.6 | -0.4pp |
| Czechia | 6.5 | -0.4pp |
| Sweden | 6.3 | -0.4pp |
| Slovakia | 6.2 | +0.2pp |
| Spain | 6 | -0.4pp |
| Luxembourg | 5.9 | -0.4pp |
| Malta | 5.6 | +0.7pp |
| Finland | 5.2 | unchanged |
| Germany | 4.9 | -0.2pp |
| Netherlands | 4.9 | -0.3pp |
| Slovenia | 4.6 | -0.8pp |
| Denmark | 4.2 | -0.2pp |
| Croatia | 2.8 | -0.3pp |
| Hungary | 2.2 | -0.2pp |
| Estonia | 1.9 | -0.3pp |
| Romania | 1.4 | -0.4pp |
| Lithuania | 1 | -0.3pp |
| Latvia | 0.9 | unchanged |
| Bulgaria | 0.3 | -0.1pp |
About this Dataset
The EU-27 aggregate stood at 6.2 % of employed persons in 2025. The EU-27 aggregate changed by -0.3pp year-on-year. Across the 27 member states covered, Greece recorded the highest reading at 11.8, while Bulgaria posted the lowest at 0.3 — a within-EU spread of 11.5 percentage points.
Data sourced from Eurostat via SDMX REST API. All values are harmonised across member states using a consistent methodology to ensure cross-country comparability.
Coverage spans 2018 through 2025, updated annually. The chart above shows the EU-27 aggregate trend; the table below ranks all member states by their latest reported value.
Frequently Asked Questions
This page tracks the share of EU employed persons who usually work 49 or more hours per week — a key work-life balance stress indicator. Country table ranks from highest (most overwork) to lowest. It is published by Eurostat, covers EU-27 member states, and is updated annually.
The most recent observation covers 2025. Eurostat typically publishes this series with a lag of several months after the reference period. Updated annually.
Structural differences in labour market institutions, collective bargaining coverage, employment protection legislation, sectoral composition, and social security system design drive divergence across member states. Greece (11.8) and Bulgaria (0.3) represent the extremes of a 11.5-point spread within the bloc.