10 most underworked countries in the world

Kiribati follows Vanuatu with 27.3 average hours per week per employed person. In the top 10 countries, India is not placed.

Kiribati follows Vanuatu with 27.3 average hours per week per employed person. (Image: AI Canva)

According to the International Labor Organisation report, Vanuatu, a country in Oceania has emerged with the shortest average working hours per employed person. In Vanuatu, workers average is 24.7 hours per week, the lowest among all surveyed nations. Additionally, only 4 per cent of the workforce in the country works 49 hours or more per week, which is a striking difference from global labour trends.

Kiribati follows Vanuatu with 27.3 average hours per week per employed person. In the top 20 countries, India is not placed. However, it is important to note that 51 per cent of India’s workforce is logging 49 or more hours per week which makes the country ranked two under the highest number of extended working hours.

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After Kiribati, Micronesia is the country with 30.5 average hours per week per employed person, followed by Rwanda (30.4), Somalia (31.5), Netherlands (31.6), Iraq (31.7), Wallis and Futuna Islands (31.8), Ethiopia (31.9), Canada (32.1), Australia (32.3), and New Zealand (33.0).

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Countries with good work life balance

On the other hand, Bhutan leads the global list with an astonishing 61 percent of its workforce working for more than 49 hours per week. Additionally, the inclusion of Bangladesh (47 percent) and Pakistan (40 percent) in the top 10 list indicates that these nations, in particular, have a significant portion of their workforce engaged in long hours.

Globally, countries like the United Arab Emirates (50.9 hours, 39 per cent) and Lesotho (50.4 hours, 36 per cent) also report high average weekly working hours, but India stands out for the proportion of its workforce going beyond the 49-hour mark.