Duration of working life in Germany

Germany: Duration of working life was 40.2 Year in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
40.2 Year
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
9th
of 35 countries
All-time high
40.2 Year
in 2025
All-time low
34.3 Year
in 2000
Years of data
26
2000–2025

Duration of working life in Germany, 2000–2025

0102030402000201220252000: 34.3 Year2001: 34.6 Year2002: 34.7 Year2003: 34.9 Year2004: 34.9 Year2005: 35.6 Year2006: 36.1 Year2007: 36.4 Year2008: 36.5 Year2009: 36.6 Year2010: 36.8 Year2011: 37.4 Year2012: 37.5 Year2013: 37.8 Year2014: 38 Year2015: 37.9 Year2016: 38.2 Year2017: 38.4 Year2018: 38.7 Year2019: 39.1 Year2020: 38.7 Year2021: 38.8 Year2022: 39.4 Year2023: 39.7 Year2024: 40 Year2025: 40.2 Year

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Year.

Analysis

In 2025, duration of working life in Germany stood at 40.2 Year. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, duration of working life in Germany peaked at 40.2 Year in 2025 and was at its lowest, 34.3 Year, in 2000.

That places Germany 9th out of 35 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 35.46 Year 34.3 Year 36.6 Year 10
2010s 37.98 Year 36.8 Year 39.1 Year 10
2020s 39.47 Year 38.7 Year 40.2 Year 6

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 6 Estonia 41.5 Year compare
  2. 7 Norway 41.4 Year compare
  3. 8 Ireland 40.7 Year compare
  4. 10 Finland 40.1 Year compare
  5. 11 Portugal 39.7 Year compare
  6. 12 Cyprus 39.5 Year compare

See the full ranking of 37 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is duration of working life in Germany?
Duration of working life in Germany was 40.2 Year in 2025, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest duration of working life recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 40.2 Year in 2025.
What is the lowest duration of working life recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 34.3 Year in 2000.
How does Germany rank for duration of working life?
Germany ranks 9th out of 35 countries with data for 2025.
Is duration of working life rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Duration of working life. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).

About this data

Indicator
Duration of working life
Unit
Year
Source
Eurostat
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat)
Coverage
37 places, 900 data points, 2000–2025
Last refreshed