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Nearly eight hours apart: Who works the longest weeks in Europe?

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 865 words · By Servet Yanatma
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What to know about Nearly eight hours apart: Who works the longest weeks in Europe?

People in some European countries work nearly eight hours more a week than those in others, according to Eurostat.

Claims checked 15
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

People in some European countries work nearly eight hours more a week than those in others, according to Eurostat.

Why it matters

Experts point to collective bargaining, part-time work and economic structure as key drivers of the gap.

Common ground

New Eurostat figures reveal stark differences in working hours across Europe.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/06/10/who-works-the-hardest-in-europe-the…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 5
info Single Source 3
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Claim 1: “part-time workers account for nearly 43% of total employment in the Netherlands”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'part' and an auto parts store advertisement; no statistical data regarding part-time employment in the Netherlands was found.
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of PART is one of the often indefinite or unequal subdivisions into which something is or is regarded as divided and which together constitute the whole.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/part
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web search NEUTRAL — PART definition: 1. some but not all of a thing: 2. partly, or to some degree: 3. to an important degree: . Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/part
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Pick and pull the auto parts you need in San Antonio and save! Hours of Operation : 9:00 am - 5:30 pm yard entry. Closes at 6:00 pm / OPEN 7 Days a week. Sell Your Junk Car in San Antonio. We Offer To…
https://wrenchapart.com/san-antonio-location
info
Claim 2: “Greece (39.6 hours), North Macedonia (39.5 hours) and Bulgaria (38.7 hours) come next.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While Greece (39.6) is corroborated, the specific figures for North Macedonia (39.5) and Bulgaria (38.7) are only found in the context of the original claim's reporting pattern in the provided evidence snippets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The modern region of Macedonia, as defined in the middle of the 19th century, spans several countries in southeastern Europe. It is known to have been inhabited since Paleolithic times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_Macedon…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Macedonia ( MASS-ih-DOH-nee-ə; Greek: Μακεδονία, romanized: Makedonía, pronounced [maceðoˈni.a] ), also called Greek Macedonia or Makedonia, is a geographic and former administrative region of Greec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_(Greece)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Ko…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Macedonia
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “workers in elementary occupations record the shortest average working week, at 31.8 hours, followed by clerical support workers (34.0 hours) and service and sales workers (34.5 hours).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “People in the EU work an average of 35.9 hours per week, according to the latest data on actual working hours from the bloc's statistical office.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources, including references to Eurostat data, confirm that the average actual weekly working hours in the EU for 2025 were 35.9 hours.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — EU is the European Union, a political and economic union of 27 member states primarily located in Europe. Eu or eu may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_(disambiguation)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. A supranational union with a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an es…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Rejoin EU Party (also known simply as Rejoin EU) is a pro-European minor political party in the United Kingdom, advocating for the country's re-entry into the European Union following its withdraw…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejoin_EU
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “Two other candidate countries closely follow: Bosnia and Herzegovina (40.9 hours) and Serbia (40.6 hours).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific figures for Bosnia and Herzegovina (40.9) and Serbia (40.6) are mentioned in one specific source (ABCMEDIA). Other search results for these countries provided general definitions rather than the specific data points.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbo-Croatian: Republika Bosna i Hercegovina / Република Босна и Херцеговина) was the Bosnian state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Bosnia_and_Herzego…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Republika Srpska (Serbian Cyrillic: Република Српска [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː] ), also referred to as the Republic of Srpska and often known in English as the Serb Republic, is one of the two confederal e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republika_Srpska
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Republika Srpska (RS; Serbian Cyrillic: Република Српска, lit. 'Serbian Republic', pronounced [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː] ) was an unrecognized geopolitical entity and a self-proclaimed quasi-state in South…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republika_Srpska_(1992–1995)
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “Elsewhere, average weekly working hours stand at 38.7 in Poland, 38.2 in Romania, 37.5 in Czechia, 37.4 in Hungary, 35.9 in Switzerland, 35.4 in Sweden and 35.1 in Ireland.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “Workers in Germany put in 1.7 fewer hours per week than those in France (35.6 hours).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 8: “The Netherlands stands out as the country with the shortest average working week in Europe, with people working just 31.9 hours per week.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the Netherlands has the shortest average working week in Europe at 31.9 hours.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The shortest weekly working hours for women were recorded in the Netherlands, where the average stood at 35.0 hours. Finland followed with 35.6 hours, Ireland with 35.9 hours, and Belgium with 36.4 ho…
https://greekreporter.com/2026/05/29/greece-work-longest-hou…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Netherlands has the shortest working hours.Average working hours are also below 35 hours per week in Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3) and Finland’ (34.7).
https://www.lojistiknakliye.com/en/avrupada-en-cok-kim-calis…
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web search NEUTRAL — By contrast, the Netherlands had the shortest working week (31.9 hours), followed by Denmark and Germany (both 33.9) and Austria (34.0).
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/agriculture-has-longest…
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Claim 9: “Germany, Norway and Denmark follow at 33.9 hours”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Germany and Denmark are tied at 33.9 hours. Agriland.ie explicitly lists Denmark and Germany (both 33.9) following the Netherlands.
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web search NEUTRAL — The average actual working hours per week differ between EU countries (see Map 1). The longest average weeks were recorded in Greece (39.6 hours), followed by ...
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 10, 2026 ... Germany records the shortest working week among the EU's four largest economies, at 33.9 hours. Workers in Germany put in 1.7 fewer hours per ...
https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/06/10/who-works-the-h…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 15, 2026 ... If you're in Germany, the average was 33.9 hours. That's not a typo, and it's tied with Denmark for one of the shortest work weeks in the entire ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/Da0jy4nCpbY/
schedule
Claim 10: “Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers record the longest working week in the EU, at 42 hours, followed by managers (40.6 hours) and armed forces occupations (39.4 hours).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “Spain (36.3 hours) records the longest working week among the four largest EU economies, while Italy (36.1 hours) also sits above the EU average of 35.9 hours.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 12: “Average working hours are also below 35 hours per week in Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3) and Finland (34.7).”
CORROBORATED
One source ('Who works the most in Europe?') explicitly lists Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3), and Finland (34.7) as being below 35 hours. Another source (Agriland.ie) corroborates Austria at 34.0.
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Claim 13: “When EU candidate countries and EFTA members are included, the figure rises to 42.4 hours in Turkey.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources confirm that when candidate countries and EFTA members are included, Turkey has the highest figure at 42.4 hours.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Economic Area (EEA) is an international agreement that extends the common market of the European Union to three non-EU states: Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The EEA was established …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organisation and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organisation ope…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Free_Trade_Associatio…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A bilateral free trade agreement is between two sides, where each side could be a country (or other customs territory), a trade bloc or an informal group of countries, and creates a free trade area. N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bilateral_free_trade_a…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 14: “Within the EU, actual weekly working hours range from 31.9 hours in the Netherlands to 39.6 hours in Greece.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly state the range of actual weekly working hours in the EU from 31.9 in the Netherlands to 39.6 in Greece.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An EU battlegroup (EU BG) is a military unit adhering to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU). Often based on contributions from a coalition of member states, each …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_battlegroup
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union's economy combines the national economies of the supranational organization's member states. It makes up the majority of the European economy as the second largest economy in the wo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a supranational union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_U…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 15: “Germany records the shortest working week among the EU's four largest economies, at 33.9 hours.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Germany has the shortest working week among the EU's four largest economies at 33.9 hours.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.