Macau among East Asia’s longest work weeks, report finds

Employees in Macau are clocking some of the longest work weeks in East Asia, with new data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) placing the city second in the region for average weekly working hours.

According to 2025 figures compiled by the World Population Review, Macau’s workforce averages 45.6 hours per week, surpassing both the global average and most of its regional neighbors.

The only East Asian country with longer work hours is Mongolia, where employees work an average of 45.7 hours weekly.

Mainland China follows Macau in third place at 44.8 hours, while Hong Kong takes fourth with 43.1 hours. Other Asian economies, including North Korea (40.8 hours), Taiwan (39.1 hours), and South Korea (36.8 hours), all report significantly shorter average work weeks in comparison to the SAR.

Macau’s work week not only exceeds the world average of 38.7 hours, recorded by the ILO, but the region also documented a pronounced gender gap: women in Macau work an average of 46 hours per week, compared to 45.4 hours for men. Both figures outpace the ILO global averages for female (35.4 hours) and male (40.7 hours) employees.

Internationally, Macau’s long hours are still surpassed by countries such as Bhutan (54.5 hours), Sudan (50.8 hours), and the UAE (48.4 hours). At the opposite end of the spectrum, nations like Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark report average work weeks of less than 29 hours.

According to the World Population Review, shorter work weeks are often found in wealthier countries with strong work-life balance cultures, which tend to report higher levels of happiness. In contrast, nations with longer work weeks frequently struggle with lower happiness and potential overwork.

Macau remains one of the wealthiest places globally by GDP per capita.

Government data shows that in 2024, Macau’s GDP per capita is at MOP587,922, with the IMF ranking it among the top 10 highest worldwide. This places Macau close to nations like the United States (USD89,678, about MOP717,000) and Norway ($90,320, about MOP721,000), and just behind Iceland and Singapore, which have GDP per capita figures exceeding $90,000.

The demanding work culture in Macau is not without consequences. Local surveys indicate that 68% of young residents cite busy work schedules and lack of time as key reasons for delaying or forgoing having children.

The city’s birth rate remains among the lowest globally, with just 750 live births recorded in the first quarter of 2025 and a fertility rate of 0.68 births per woman.

In response, the Legislative Assembly (AL) has pledged to increase maternity leave and annual holidays, with changes expected later this year. Currently, female employees are entitled to 70 days of paid maternity leave, with government subsidies available for a portion of this period.