How many years people in the EU can expect to work
Topic: Work and income
A 15-year-old in the Netherlands can expect 44.0 years of working life, against 32.7 years in Romania.
In 2025, a 15-year-old in the EU could expect 37.5 years in the labour force, at that year's rates of labour force participation and mortality.
- Figures for:
- 2025.
- Covers:
- the whole year.
- New data:
- once a year.
- Dataset updated:
- 17 April 2026.
Published 1 November 2026, updated 6 November 2026
The ranking
In 2025, the expected duration of working life at age 15 was highest in the Netherlands, at 44.0 years, and lowest in Romania, at 32.7 years.
Expected duration of working life at age 15, years
2025Over time
Expected duration of working life at age 15 in the EU, years
2010–2025Between 2010 and 2025, the duration lengthened in 27 countries.
Expected duration of working life at age 15, years
2010 and 2025 · ranked by 2025Women and men
For women, the spread across countries was wider. It ranged from 28.4 years in Italy to 42.3 years in Sweden. The gap was 13.9 years.
For men, the spread across countries was narrower than for women. The Netherlands was the highest, at 45.9 years, and Bulgaria the lowest, at 35.9 years. The gap between the Netherlands and Bulgaria was 10.0 years.
Expected duration of working life at age 15: women and men, years
2025| Everyone | Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest | 32.7 yearsRomania | 28.4 yearsItaly | 35.9 yearsBulgaria |
| Highest | 44.0 yearsthe Netherlands | 42.3 yearsSweden | 45.9 yearsthe Netherlands |
| Highest − lowest | 11.3 years | 13.9 years | 10.0 years |
About the data
The number of years a person aged 15 is expected to be in the labour force, employed or unemployed, over the rest of their life, if the labour force participation and mortality of the year stayed the same.
Eurostat: “The duration of working life indicator (DWL) measures the number of years a person aged 15 is expected to be active in the labour market throughout their life.” (source)
Calculated by Eurostat from two sources. Labour force participation rates come from the EU Labour Force Survey, a sample survey of households run by the national statistical institutes. Survival rates come from Eurostat's life tables, based on the deaths and population data of the national statistical institutes.
How to read these numbers
How it is measured
The figure counts the years in the labour force. Years of unemployment count as well as years in work. Any work of at least one hour in the survey week counts as employment, part-time work included.
The figure is calculated from the participation rates and mortality of a single year. It is not a forecast of how long people aged 15 today will actually work. The value for a year uses the life tables of the year before.
The years add up over a whole life from age 15. They can come with breaks between them. The figure does not show the age at which people stop working.
The participation rates come from a survey of people living in private households. Conscripts in military or community service are not included.
Breaks in the series
The EU Labour Force Survey has a new legal basis and methodology from 2021, which caused breaks in the series for several EU countries. Eurostat marks no break in this dataset. Values before and after 2021 may not be fully comparable.
Sources and data
Eurostat, Duration of working life (lfsi_dwl_a). Data updated 17 April 2026, retrieved 3 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
Eurostat metadata · Eurostat methodology
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/lfsi_dwl_a?format=JSON&lang=en&freq=A&geo=AT&geo=BE&geo=BG&geo=CY&geo=CZ&geo=DE&geo=DK&geo=EE&geo=EL&geo=ES&geo=EU27_2020&geo=FI&geo=FR&geo=HR&geo=HU&geo=IE&geo=IT&geo=LT&geo=LU&geo=LV&geo=MT&geo=NL&geo=PL&geo=PT&geo=RO&geo=SE&geo=SI&geo=SK&sex=T&unit=YRRelated stories
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