Filenews 21 July 2025 - by Theano Thiopoulou
The working life of Cypriot citizens is higher than the European Union average, according to the recent survey conducted by Eurostat for 2024.
Based on the findings of the survey, the average in Europe is 37.2 years, while in Cyprus the average working life expectancy is 39 years.
The working life of Greeks is relatively short and stands at 34.8 years, reflecting the weaknesses of the labour market in Greece. At the top are the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland which had the longest expected working life expectancy in 2024, each with more than 40 years.
More specifically, the Netherlands had the longest working life expectancy, 43.8 years, followed by Sweden (43.0 years), Denmark (42.5 years), Estonia (41.4 years) and Ireland (40.4 years) which ranked higher. The shortest working life expectancy was recorded in Romania (32.7 years) and in several southern European countries, including Italy (32.8 years), as well as Croatia, Greece and Bulgaria, with 34.8 years each.
Since 2015, life expectancy in the EU has steadily increased, from 34.9 years in 2015 to 35.9 years in 2019. In 2020, combined with the COVID-19 health crisis, the expected working life expectancy decreased to 35.6 years. Despite the slight decrease in 2020, over the last 10 years, the index shows a continuous increase in the years of working life for both sexes.
Although men are expected to work more than women, the gender gap has narrowed with women's increasing participation in the labour market. Indeed, the estimated expected working life expectancy for men was 37.4 years in 2015, while for women it was 32.3 years.
As a result, the gender gap in expected working life expectancy was smaller in 2024 than in 2015 (i.e. 4.2 years compared to 5.1 years). In Cyprus, the estimated working life expectancy for men is 41.1 years and for women 33.7 years.
