World’s Hardest-Working Countries: Top 10 by Hours Work

World’s Hardest-Working Countries: Where People Spend the Most Hours on the Job

By Simran - August 14, 2026

Hardest-Working Countries

Using recent OECD annual-hours-worked data, countries commonly near the top include:

1.   🇨🇴 Colombia — around 2,300+ hours per worker/year
2.   🇲🇽 Mexico — around 2,200+ hours
3.   🇨🇷 Costa Rica — around 2,100+ hours
4.   🇨🇱 Chile — around 1,950+ hours
5.   🇬🇷 Greece — around 1,890+ hours
6.   🇮🇱 Israel — around 1,880+ hours
7.   🇰🇷 South Korea — around 1,870+ hours
8.   🇵🇱 Poland — around 1,800+ hours
9.   🇺🇸 United States — around 1,800 hours
10.   🇨🇿 Czechia — around 1,770 hours

But does working longer mean working harder?

Not necessarily. Hours worked are measurable; “hardworking” is subjective. Countries such as Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands tend to record fewer annual working hours while maintaining high productivity.