Sometimes we may feel at the end of a hard day’s work that we work longer hours than anyone on the planet; however, there are plenty of societies across the globe where long hours are not only the norm, but are expected.

Which nationalities work the longest hours – and which the shortest?

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mexico ranks a number one among most of the other 37 countries for which is has statistics. The hardest working country of all? Indeed, the average citizen of the Central American country works 2,246 hours a year, or 43.2 hours a week.

According to an OECD report, Mexicans are the hardest-working people in the world

In second place is Costa Rica,  often describes as the world’s happiest country; South Korea, Greece and Chile complete the top five.

In second place is Costa Rica, often describes as the world's happiest country

At the other end of the table is Germany, a nation stereotypically associated with efficiency. The average German works just 1,371 hours a year – or 26.4 hours a week. Also enjoying plenty of downtime are citizens of The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and France.  

Which nationalities work the longest hours?

1. Mexico – 2,246 hours per year
2. Costa Rica – 2,230
3. South Korea – 2,113
4. Greece – 2,042
5. Chile – 1,988
6. Russia – 1,978
7. Poland – 1,963
8. Latvia – 1,903
9. Iceland – 1,880
10. Portugal – 1,868
11. Lithuania – 1,860
12. Israel – 1,858
13. Estonia – 1,852
14. Turkey – 1,832
15. Ireland – 1,820
16. United States – 1,790
17. Czech Republic – 1,779
18. New Zealand – 1,757
19. Slovakia – 1,754
20. Hungary – 1,749
21. Italy – 1,725
22. Japan – 1,719
23. Canada – 1,706
24. Spain – 1,691
25. Slovenia – 1,676
26. United Kingdom – 1,674
27. Australia – 1,665
28. Finland – 1,646
29. Austria – 1,625
30. Sweden – 1,612
31. Switzerland – 1,590
32. Belgium – 1,541
33. Luxembourg – 1,507
34. France – 1,482
35. Denmark – 1,457
36. Norway – 1,424
37. Netherlands – 1,419
38. Germany – 1,371

Germany's workers toil for the fewest hours

Overall, average working hours have fallen in every country for which the OECD has data. Bigger decreases have been seen in other countries, such as Hungary. Its residents worked 2,033 hours a year in 2000; in 2015 that figure fell to 1,749. 

source:telegraph