In competitive Asian market, Pakistani freelancers work fewer hours than others

Pakistanis work an average of 34 hours per week, with the women charging more money than the men

Asia is not only home to the most populous countries in the world, it is also the hot bed for freelance workers and those who work the most. But Pakistan lags behind some of the countries in the region to the number of hours worked

According to a recent survey report from online payments solution provider Payoneer, most of the freelancers in the world were concentrated in Asia, which led with 27% of the market. It was followed by Latin America at 23%, Europe (19%), Middle East (15%), and Africa (14%).



The company surveyed 23,000 freelance workers all over the world and found that the average hourly rates charged on Payoneer’s network was $21.

The survey also found that 78% of respondents were male and that they charged slightly more than their female counterparts ($20.97 vs $20.26). Meanwhile, individuals who worked at companies charged 5% more than freelance workers who worked independently from home.

However, the trend was bucked in Pakistan and Russia where women were found to be charging more than men. Women in Pakistan charged an average of $22 per hour, while the men charged $20. While in Russia, women charged $24 and the men $21.



The average work week of freelance workers surveyed was 36 hours, with those providing legal services working the most number hours per week (39.4) and those providing writing and translation services working the least number of hours per week (31.6).

In this regards, it was found that freelancers in Kenya worked the most, with an average workweek of 42.6 hours.



Kenya was followed by Egypt (38.5), Serbia (37.9), India (37.4) and Argentina (37.4).

Among Asian countries, India led with 37.4 hours per week, followed by Bangladesh (35.9), Sri Lanka (35.1), Philippines (34.2), Pakistan (34) and Indonesia (33.5).

The countries that worked the least were Morocco (30.1), Tunisia (30.6) and Algeria (32.2).

Freelance workers providing legal services charged the most amount of money for their work on average ($31 per hour), and had the second highest level of income satisfaction (45.6%).



The highest level of incomes satisfaction was found in freelancers working in the IT and programming category (48.7%), while the least satisfied workers were those in the writing and translation category (43%), indicating that they would either want to work more hours or charge higher rates for the hours worked.

Almost half of freelancer workers find projects through online marketplaces, while the preferred social media network of all those surveyed turned out to be Facebook.