Which EU Countries Are the Most Productive?

Key Takeaways

• Both Ireland and Luxembourg overstate national output when measured by GDP per hour worked.
• Ireland records the highest GDP per hour worked in the EU at USD 150.00, more than twice the EU average of USD 64.25. This figure is inflated by multinational corporate profits that flow out of the country and does not directly reflect the productivity of the Irish workforce.
• Luxembourg ranks second at USD 107.98 per hour. GDP there is similarly inflated by income from multinational enterprises operating in Luxembourg but owned abroad.
• Denmark and Belgium lead the remaining EU countries at USD 94.00 and USD 91.31 per hour, respectively.
• A near 2:1 productivity gap separates Western and Eastern EU countries. The Netherlands produces USD 84.11 per hour. Latvia produces USD 47.03. Most Eastern EU countries produce between USD 45 and USD 55 per hour.
• Greece ranks last at USD 39.39 per hour, the only EU country below USD 40. Its economy has a high concentration of small firms and underinvests in intangible assets.

Labour Productivity in EU Countries

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Most EU productivity rankings lead with Ireland. Its GDP per hour worked is USD 150. That is more than double the EU average of USD 64.25. However, it is not a direct measure of Irish worker output.

A large share of Ireland’s GDP consists of profits from multinational corporations that flow straight back to shareholders abroad. Ireland created a separate national accounting indicator, Modified GNI, specifically to exclude these effects. When output is measured using Modified GNI, Irish productivity falls substantially.

Luxembourg ranks second at USD 107.98 per hour. It faces the same distortion. GDP there is inflated by income from multinational enterprises operating in Luxembourg but owned abroad. The headline figure overstates national output in the same way.

Western EU Countries Produce Nearly Twice as Much per Hour as Eastern Peers

Set Ireland and Luxembourg aside. Northern and Western EU countries cluster at the top of the remaining table. Denmark and Belgium lead at USD 94.00 and USD 91.31 per hour respectively. The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Germany, and France all produce between USD 82.76 and USD 84.11. Finland follows at USD 74.07.

Southern EU countries sit close to the EU average. Italy produces USD 66.98 per hour. Spain produces USD 62.42. Both are near but below the Northern and Western cluster.

Central and Eastern EU countries form a distinct lower tier. Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, and Croatia all produce between USD 45 and USD 55 per hour. Portugal, though geographically in Western Europe, falls within the same range at USD 48.70.

The Netherlands produces USD 84.11 per hour. Latvia produces USD 47.03. That is a ratio of nearly 2:1. Central and Eastern EU economies concentrate more heavily in labour-intensive industries. Northern and Western EU countries have more exposure to capital-intensive sectors, which generate higher output per hour. Low public research spending and insufficient corporate investment in training compound the gap in the East. Emigration of skilled workers from several Eastern economies has narrowed the available talent pool further.

Greece Is the Only EU Country Below USD 40 per Hour

Greece produces USD 39.39 per hour. It ranks last among all 24 EU countries measured. It is the only EU country below USD 40. Croatia, the next-lowest, produces USD 45.04.

Greece has a high concentration of small firms. Firm size is strongly linked to productivity. Smaller businesses invest less in technology, training, and process improvement. Greece also underinvests in intangible assets relative to most EU peers.

Labour productivity in Greece declined by an average of 1% per year over the past decade. Across the OECD, the average over the same period was 0.9% growth.

The EU’s Labour Productivity Gap Is Structural, Not Cyclical

The EU average of USD 64.25 per hour sits at the dividing line between two distinct productivity worlds within the same bloc. One runs across Northern and Western Europe. The other covers most of Southern and Eastern Europe.

Ireland and Luxembourg top the table, but their figures reflect accounting structures as much as economic output. The more instructive comparison is between the core Western cluster, producing USD 83 to USD 94 per hour, and the Eastern tier at roughly USD 45 to USD 55. That gap represents decades of structural divergence in investment, regulation, and integration into high-value industries.