Brussels – The average length of working life for people aged 15 and over in the European Union is increasing. According to Eurostat data, the EU’s statistical office, it has increased by 2.3 years since 2016, rising from 35.2 to 37.5 years in 2025. In 2024, the average was 37.2 years.
In seven EU countries, the average expected length of working life is 40 years or more: the Netherlands (44 years), Sweden (43.4), Denmark (42.6), Estonia (41.5), Ireland (40.7), Germany (40.2), and Finland (40.1). By contrast, Romania (32.7 years), Italy (33), and Bulgaria (34.6) have the shortest average working life.
In 2025, men in the EU are expected to work for an average of 39.5 years, with the longest working lives in the Netherlands (45.9 years), Sweden and Denmark (both 44.5 years), and Ireland (43.4 years), while the shortest working lives for men are recorded in Bulgaria (35.9 years), Romania (36 years), and Croatia (36.3 years).
For women, the average expected length of working life in the EU is 35.4 years. The longest working lives are found in Sweden (42.3 years), the Netherlands (41.9 years), and Estonia (41.8 years), while the shortest are in Italy (28.4 years), Romania (29.1 years), and Greece (31.8 years).
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
