From Amsterdam to Bucharest, the number of years a 15-year-old can expect to spend in the labour force varies by more than a decade across the European Union, according to fresh data from Eurostat. The figures, released in early 2025, show an EU average of 37.5 years — up from 37.2 in 2024 and 35.2 in 2016 — but mask stark national and gender disparities.
The indicator measures the expected duration of working life under current conditions, including both employment and unemployment spells. It is not a retirement age target, but rather a snapshot of actual labour market participation patterns.
Where Europeans Work the Longest
In seven member states, the expected working life now exceeds 40 years. The Netherlands leads at 44 years, followed by Sweden (43.3), Denmark (42.6), Estonia (41.5), Ireland (40.7), Germany (40.2) and Finland (40.1). These countries, mostly in northern and western Europe, combine high employment rates with relatively late exits from the workforce.
At the other end of the spectrum, Romania (32.7), Italy (33) and Bulgaria (34.6) report the shortest expected working lives. The gap between the Netherlands and Romania — 11.3 years — underscores how differently labour markets function across the continent.
The north-south divide is not absolute: Greece (34.9) and Croatia (35.5) also rank low, while Estonia and Ireland perform well above the EU average.
Gender Gap Persists Across the Union
Men across the EU can expect to work 39.5 years on average, compared to 35.4 for women — a gap of roughly four years. The disparity is most pronounced in Italy, where women are expected to work just 28.4 years, the lowest in the bloc. Romanian women fare only slightly better at 29.1 years, followed by Greek women at 31.8.
By contrast, women in Sweden (42.3), the Netherlands (41.9) and Estonia (41.8) have the longest expected working lives, approaching or exceeding the levels of men in many countries. The gender gap is narrowest in Sweden (1 year) and Denmark (0.7 years), reflecting higher female labour force participation and more equal retirement policies.
For men, the longest working lives are found in the Netherlands (45.9), Sweden and Denmark (both 44.5), and Ireland (43.4). Bulgarian men (35.9), Romanian men (36.0) and Croatian men (36.3) have the shortest.
Retirement Age Reforms in Motion
The data comes as several EU countries push through politically sensitive pension reforms. In France, mass protests erupted in 2023 after then-Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne proposed raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. The reform was eventually passed, but the Assemblée Nationale voted in 2025 to delay its implementation until 2028 — after the next presidential election — to avoid another government collapse.
Romania is gradually raising women's retirement age from 63 to 65 by 2035, aligning it with men's, and has also tightened rules for judges and prosecutors, who previously could retire in their late 40s. Denmark's Folketing has approved a law raising the state pension age to 70 by 2040, tying it to life expectancy increases.
These reforms reflect broader demographic pressures across Europe: longer life expectancy and declining birth rates are straining pension systems. The Eurobarometer survey recently found that nearly one in three Europeans expect their living standards to fall, a sentiment that may intensify as retirement ages rise.
Eurostat cautions that its indicator does not prescribe how long people should work. It merely describes observed behaviour. Yet the data makes clear that where you live — and your gender — remain powerful predictors of how many years you will spend in the labour force.
