The World’s Most Productive Countries Work Less [Infographic]

Which countries can claim to have the best workers? 

Data compiled by HowMuch.net suggests that Western countries tend to work fewer hours and produce more GDP per capita compared to the rest of the world, leading to a significantly higher level of productivity per person per hour.

In fact, only six out of the top 36 most productive countries are not Western countries – Japan, Israel, South Korea, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico (seven if you count Russia).

Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland, which are all Western countries, have significantly higher worker productivity compared to all other countries measured.

It’s great to see Australia high on their list of the most productive countries:

1. LUXEMBOURG
2. NORWAY                                                           
3. SWITZERLAND
4. DENMARK
5. ICELAND
6. UNITED STATES
7. AUSTRALIA
8. IRELAND
9. NETHERLANDS
10. SWEDEN
11. GERMANY
12. AUSTRIA
13. FINLAND
14. CANADA
15. FRANCE
16. NEW ZEALAND
17. UNITED KINGDOM
18. JAPAN
19. ISRAEL
20. ITALY

In the chart above from HowMuch.net shades of blue represented relatively high worker productivity while shades of red represent relatively lower worker productivity. 

Worker productivity is calculated by dividing annual GDP per capita by annual hours worked, which yields productivity per hour worked.

There is a direct correlation between high worker productivity and annual hours worked.

The countries with the world’s most productive workers are found almost exclusively in the upper left quadrant of the chart.

In this quadrant, workers spent a relatively lower amount of time at work but output a relatively high amount of GDP per capita.