Annual working hours vs. productivity in New Zealand

New Zealand: Annual working hours vs. productivity was 1,708 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,708 hours per worker
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
91st
of 129 countries
All-time high
1,835 hours per worker
in 1970
All-time low
1,688 hours per worker
in 2021
Years of data
54
1970–2023

Annual working hours vs. productivity in New Zealand, 1970–2023

05001.0k1.5k2.0k197019962023

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

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 1,708 hours per worker for annual working hours vs. productivity in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours vs. productivity in New Zealand peaked at 1,835 hours per worker in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,688 hours per worker, in 2021.

That places New Zealand 91st out of 129 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1,814 hours per worker 1,793 hours per worker 1,835 hours per worker 10
1980s 1,798 hours per worker 1,764 hours per worker 1,824 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,798 hours per worker 1,766 hours per worker 1,826 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,772 hours per worker 1,713 hours per worker 1,806 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,725 hours per worker 1,701 hours per worker 1,742 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,700 hours per worker 1,688 hours per worker 1,708 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 88 Turkey 1,747 hours per worker compare
  2. 89 Portugal 1,735 hours per worker compare
  3. 90 Canada 1,731 hours per worker compare
  4. 92 Italy 1,701 hours per worker compare
  5. 93 Hungary 1,668 hours per worker compare
  6. 94 Bulgaria 1,659 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 129 places →

More economy & growth data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours vs. productivity in New Zealand?
Annual working hours vs. productivity in New Zealand was 1,708 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 New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 1,835 hours per worker in 1970.
What is the lowest annual working hours vs. productivity recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 1,688 hours per worker in 2021.
How does New Zealand rank for annual working hours vs. productivity?
New Zealand ranks 91st out of 129 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours vs. productivity rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand 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 — 54 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.