People aged 15 and over in the EU were expected to work an average of 37.5 years in 2025, up from 37.2 years in 2024.
The expected duration of working life has risen by 2.3 years since 2016, from 35.2 to 37.5 years, Eurostat reported on Thursday.
Working lives varied widely across the bloc, with seven countries at 40 years or more.
The Netherlands recorded the longest expected working life at 44.0 years, followed by Sweden (43.4) and Denmark (42.6).
Estonia (41.5), Ireland (40.7), Germany (40.2) and Finland (40.1) also recorded expected working lives of more than 40 years.
At the other end of the scale, Romania had the shortest expected working life at 32.7 years, followed by Italy (33.0) and Bulgaria (34.6).
Men expected to work longer than women
Across the EU, men were expected to work 39.5 years on average in 2025, compared with 35.4 years for women.
The longest expected working lives for men were in the Netherlands (45.9 years), Sweden and Denmark (both 44.5), and Ireland (43.4).
For women, Sweden recorded the longest expected working life at 42.3 years, followed by the Netherlands (41.9) and Estonia (41.8).
The shortest expected working lives for women were in Italy (28.4 years), Romania (29.1) and Greece (31.8).
