Romania reports high annual working hours compared to EU average

Data from the University of Groningen and Our World in Data reveals that Romanian employees work significantly more hours annually than their counterparts in many wealthier European nations. On average, a Romanian worker completes 1,826 hours per year, compared to 1,335 hours for a German worker—a difference of approximately 491 hours, or roughly three months of full-time work.

Within the European Union, Romania has the fourth highest annual average of hours worked, following Croatia, Greece, and Cyprus. In contrast, nations such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, and the Netherlands report much lower averages.

Regarding weekly schedules, 75.5% of Romanian workers fall into the 40 to 44.5-hour per week bracket, the third-highest proportion in the EU after Bulgaria and Latvia. This contrasts with countries like Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, and Ireland, where the majority of the workforce operates within the 35 to 39.5-hour range.