In the European Union (EU) member states, one person works on average for 37.2 years.
In 2024, the European Statistics Office (Eurostat) shared data on the average working time of people aged 15 years and older in EU countries.
According to data, the average working time in EU countries has increased by 2.4 years in the last 10 years. In the EU, the average of an individual’s working time reached 37.2 years.
The average working life period varies between EU countries.
The longest working time among EU countries is in the Netherlands. An individual in the Netherlands works on average for 43.8 years. The Netherlands follows Sweden with the nearest 43 years, Denmark with 42.5 years, Estonia with 41.4 years, Ireland with 40.4 years, Germany for 40 years and Finland with 39.8 years.
The lowest working time among the EU countries is in Romania with 32.7 years, in Italy with 32.8 years, in Croatia, Greece and Bulgaria with 34.8 years, and in Belgium for 35 years.
Men work in the Netherlands 45.7 years
For men, the average time of working life in the EU is 39.2 years. While men worked in the Netherlands, 44.2 years in Denmark and 40.0 years in Sweden, this period has reached 35.9 years in Romania and 36 years in Croatia and Bulgaria.
Women work in the EU an average of 35 years. The working time of women is 42.2 years in Estonia, 42 years in Sweden, 41.8 years in the Netherlands, while the shortest working time for women is in Italy with 28.2 years in Italy, 29.2 years in Romania and 31.1 years in Greece.
Eurostat, in the same period in Türkiye as 30.2 years of working time in Turkey. Thus, the average working year in Türkiye is shorter than EU countries. In Türkiye, men work on average 39.3 years and women work 20.7 years.
