Luxembourgers spend 35 years working on average
Source: Luca Bravo, Unsplash
In 2023, the average working life expectancy in the EU was 36.9 years. However, this indicator varied considerably between EU countries. In some countries, working life expectancy exceeded 40 years. The highest values were observed in the Netherlands (43.7 years), Sweden (43.1 years) and Denmark (41.3 years). The lowest values were observed in Romania (32.2 years), Italy (32.9 years) and Croatia (34.0 years). This data is published by Eurostat.
The working life expectancy of men was on average longer than that of women. It was 39.0 years on average for men in the EU. The highest values were recorded in the Netherlands (45.7 years), Sweden (44.1 years), Denmark and Ireland (both 42.8 years). The lowest values were recorded in Croatia (35.4 years), Bulgaria and Romania (both 35.6 years). For women, the average working life expectancy in the EU was 34.7 years. The highest values were observed in Sweden (41.9 years), the Netherlands and Estonia (both 41.5 years), and the lowest in Italy (28.3 years), Romania (28.5 years) and Greece (30.6 years).
In Luxembourg, men also work slightly longer than women: around 37 years and 34 years respectively, giving an average working life of 35.2 years.
Working life expectancy in the EU has been rising steadily since 2013, but fell for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (from 34.7 years in 2013 to 35.9 years in 2019, then to 35.6 years in 2020). It returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.
