Bulgaria has recorded a historic decline in average working hours, with the national workweek dropping below 39 hours for the first time since records began in the early 2000s, according to new data from Eurostat. In 2025, employed people aged between 20 and 64 in Bulgaria worked an average of 38.7 hours per week, down from exactly 39 hours in 2024. The figures mark the first time the country’s average workweek has fallen beneath the 39-hour threshold. Despite the decline, Bulgaria still ranks among the countries with the longest working hours in the European Union. Only Greece recorded a higher average at 39.6 hours per week, while Bulgaria shares second place with Poland. Long-term data show a gradual reduction in working time over the past two decades. At the beginning of the century, Bulgarians worked an average of 40.7 hours weekly, with the figure peaking at 41.2 hours around the country’s accession to the European Union in 2007. Across the EU, the average workweek in 2025 stood at 35.9 hours, slightly down from 36 hours a year earlier. Over the last decade, average working hours across the bloc have declined by around one hour. Countries with the shortest average workweeks remain some of Europe’s most developed economies, including Netherlands with 31.9 hours, Denmark and Germany with 33.9 hours, and Austria at 34 hours per week. Eurostat noted that the statistics include both full-time and part-time employees, as well as overtime linked to primary employment, but exclude annual leave, sick leave, and commuting time.