Sickness absences from work — Sickness absences of full-time dependent employees, annual averages by country
This dataset presents time series on sickness absences of full-time dependent employees, annual averages. Data are expressed in number of weeks of sickness absences per year, self-reported, covering both full and part-week absences. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.
What the numbers show
Sickness absences from work — Sickness absences of full-time dependent employees, annual averages is currently reported for 23 countries. The highest value is 5.7 Weeks per year per person in Norway; the lowest is 0.1 Weeks per year per person in Romania.
The median across all reporting countries is 2.2 Weeks per year per person, and the mean is 2.48 Weeks per year per person.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 57.
Over the past decade 16 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Spain (up 108.3%), and the largest decrease in Italy (down 60.0%).
Sickness absences from work — Sickness absences of full-time: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 5.7 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 18.8% | rising |
| 2 | Spain | 5 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 108.3% | rising |
| 3 | Finland | 4.8 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 4 | France | 4.1 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 28.1% | rising |
| 5 | Portugal | 4 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 17.6% | rising |
| 6 | Belgium | 3.9 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 21.9% | rising |
| 7 | Germany | 3.5 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 8 | Austria | 3.3 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 43.5% | rising |
| 9 | Sweden | 3.2 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | down 11.1% | falling |
| 10 | Czechia | 3.1 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 34.8% | flat |
| 11 | Iceland | 2.3 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 43.8% | rising |
| 12 | Switzerland | 2.2 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 29.4% | rising |
| 13 | Denmark | 2.1 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 10.5% | falling |
| 14 | Canada | 1.9 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 18.8% | rising |
| 15 | Ireland | 1.6 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 6.7% | rising |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 1.6 Weeks per year per person | 2020 | down 23.8% | falling |
| 17 | Luxembourg | 1.5 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | down 31.8% | falling |
| 18 | United States | 1.1 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 10.0% | falling |
| 19 | Hungary | 0.8 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | unchanged | falling |
| 20 | Italy | 0.6 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 0.5 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 25.0% | falling |
| 22 | Greece | 0.2 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 23 | Romania | 0.1 Weeks per year per person | 2025 | unchanged | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Croatia 2.8 Weeks per year per person
- Slovak Republic 1.2 Weeks per year per person
About this data
This dataset presents time series on sickness absences of full-time dependent employees, annual averages. Data are expressed in number of weeks of sickness absences per year, self-reported, covering both full and part-week absences. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.