Greeks’ short working life

The working life of the Greeks is relatively short, just over 34 years, a phenomenon that becomes even more pronounced if compared to other countries, such as the Netherlands, Sweden and also Denmark, where people work for over 40 years.

According to Eurostat data, the average length of working life in Europe is 36.9 years; however this varies between EU countries. The working life of Greeks, according to the 2023 data collected by Eurostat, is 34.2 years, while the working life of a Dutch person reaches 43.7 years, a Swede 43.1 and a Dane 41.3 years. On the contrary, the length of working life in Romania (32.2 years), Italy (32.9 years) and Croatia (34 years) is even lower than in Greece.

The relatively short working life of Greeks reflects all the weaknesses presented by the domestic labor market and, more broadly, the country's production model. First, young people...