Ireland is the clear productivity outlier
Ireland recorded the highest latest labour productivity value in the dataset, reaching 220.2 compared with the EU average of 100.
Labour productivity across Europe
Productivity per hour worked relative to the EU average
Labour productivity is one of the most important indicators for understanding long-term economic performance. This page tracks nominal labour productivity per hour worked across EU and EFTA countries from 2005 to 2025, using an index where the EU average equals 100.
The time series shows how productivity levels moved relative to the EU average over time. Values above 100 indicate productivity above the EU average, while values below 100 indicate productivity below it. For Iceland and Norway, the latest available data currently refer to 2024.
Explore the data
Key insights
Convergence is visible in parts of Eastern Europe
Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland all increased their labour productivity relative to the EU average between 2005 and the latest available year.
Productivity gaps remain large
Even in the latest year, productivity ranges from 54.5 in Greece to 220.2 in Ireland, showing very large differences across Europe.
Key comparisons
Selected highlights from the labour productivity per hour worked dataset, 2005–2025. The EU average equals 100.
Extended analysis
1) Productivity is measured relative to the EU average
The indicator used here expresses labour productivity per hour worked relative to the EU average. A value of 100 represents the EU average. Countries above 100 are above the EU average, while countries below 100 are below it.
In the latest available year, the highest values were recorded in Ireland (220.2), Norway (174.0), Luxembourg (168.3), Denmark (134.0) and Belgium (131.4).
2) Productivity gaps remain very large
The latest snapshot shows a wide productivity gap across Europe. At the lower end of the ranking, the lowest values were recorded in Greece (54.5), Bulgaria (59.1), Latvia (62.1), Portugal (66.8) and Croatia (68.0).
This range shows that labour productivity differences remain one of the clearest structural divides in the European economy. Productivity helps explain why income levels, competitiveness and long-term economic performance can differ so strongly between countries.
3) Catch-up is strongest in parts of Eastern Europe
The largest productivity gains between 2005 and the latest available year were recorded in Ireland (+94.7 index points), Romania (+43.4), Estonia (+22.6), Latvia (+21.9), Bulgaria (+21.7) and Lithuania (+21.7).
These changes show that convergence is visible in the data, especially among several countries that started far below the EU average. However, many of these economies still remain below the EU average in the latest year.
4) Some high-productivity economies moved closer to the EU average
Not all countries increased their productivity relative to the EU average. The largest declines between 2005 and the latest available year were recorded in Greece (-20.5 index points), France (-17.0), Italy (-15.4), Luxembourg (-14.3) and Netherlands (-13.0).
A decline in this index does not necessarily mean that productivity fell in absolute terms. It means that a country moved down relative to the EU average, or improved more slowly than the benchmark.
5) Ireland and Norway need careful interpretation
Ireland is the clearest outlier in the dataset, with labour productivity rising from 125.5 in 2005 to 220.2 in 2025. This reflects Ireland's unusual economic structure and the strong influence of multinational activity on national accounts.
Norway also remains near the top of the ranking, with a latest available value of 174.0 in 2024. Data for Norway and Iceland are currently available up to 2024, while most other countries have data for 2025.
How to read this indicator
Labour productivity per hour worked measures economic output generated during one hour of work relative to the EU average. It is useful for comparing productivity levels across countries, but it should not be interpreted as wages, income or living standards. The indicator can be influenced by economic structure, capital intensity, sector composition, multinational activity and national accounting effects. Liechtenstein and Switzerland are not shown because comparable data were not available in the dataset used here.