Duration of working life in CEE mostly below the EU average

In 2024, the expected average duration of working life for 15-year-olds and over in the EU was 37.2 years. Gender-wise, for men, the expected duration of working life was on average 39.2 years in the EU, with the shortest in CEE in Romania at 35.9 and Croatia at 36. As for women, the average duration of working life in the EU was 35.0 years (one of the shortest durations was registered in Romania at 29.2). Looking across CEE countries it should not come as a surprise that the lowest working life durations was recorded in Romania (32.7 years), followed by Croatia (34.8). Compared to the EU average only Czechia and Hungary have marginally longer duration of working life. Czechia, however, has one of the biggest gaps between male and female duration of working life. Romania and Poland also stand out in that comparison. In the face of demographic challenges, prolonging working life may become a necessity at some point. Health status will be one of the key factors allowing to prolong the duration of working life, however.