UBS Survey: French More Productive than Americans?

According to a new survey released by wealth management firm UBS, French work fewer hours than others, yet they are one of the most productive countries in the world. The UBS survey compares the purchasing power in 73 cities, and when compared with the nations' GDP per Capita, France is among the highest in productivity.

On average, people work 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities. Asian and Middle Eastern cities work the most, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 hours respectively. In contrast, people of Lyon and Paris, work only 1,582 and 1,594 hours respectively.

According to the figures calculated, the French are 2% more productive than the Americans. GDP in this calculation is based on statistics from NationMaster, dated 2006. If the same calculation were carried out using a different set of statistics from PopulationData.net, dated 2008, the gap is even more greater. The US would have productivity of $46,670/1,792 hrs = 26.04, and France would have $44,606/1,453 hrs = 30.70, an astonishing 18% higher in terms of productivity.

However, the methodology itself is not very accurate. It does not take cost of living into account. Nonetheless the data is available in the UBS report. Also, the GDP per Capita used in the calculations are nationwide averages, not ones of the specific cities. The rough calculation does present us a different perspective as to how we should work (or not work).

So are lazy people more productive? it might very well be true.