Reforms to Greece’s pension system over the past 15 years have extended workers‘ actual time in the labor market by roughly three years, according to the latest official Eurostat data.
The country’s expected working life reached 35.3 years in 2025, up from 34.8 years in 2024 and 32.1 years in 2014, reflecting a steady increase in labor market participation over the past decade.
The Eurostat indicator estimates the total number of years a person is expected to spend in the labor market—either employed or unemployed—based on current employment rates and life expectancy. It is also influenced by the age at which people enter the workforce or begin actively seeking work, which tends to occur later in Greece than in many other European Union countries.
That delayed entry helps explain why Greeks continue to work the longest weeks in the EU—averaging 39.6 hours—yet still fall short of the bloc’s average expected working life, which rose to 37.5 years in 2025, from 37.2 years a year earlier.
Even so, Greece has recorded a stronger increase over the past decade than the EU average, with expected working life rising by 3.2 years, compared with a 2.3-year increase across the bloc.
Northern Europe Leads Seven EU countries now have an expected working life of 40 years or more. The Netherlands ranks first with 44 years, followed by Sweden (43.4), Denmark (42.6), Estonia (41.5), Ireland (40.7), Germany (40.2) and Finland (40.1).
At the other end of the spectrum are Romania (32.7 years), Italy (33 years) and Bulgaria (34.6 years).
One of the EU’s Widest Gender Gaps Eurostat’s data also highlight one of Greece’s most persistent labor market challenges: the stark difference between men and women.
Men in Greece are expected to spend 38.5 years in the labor market, while women are expected to work just 31.8 years—the second-lowest figure in the European Union after Italy.
The gap underscores the longstanding barriers women continue to face in the Greek labor market, both in gaining access to employment and in sustaining longer professional careers.
