The figure for 2017 marks a considerable increase on the estimated duration for a 15-year-old in 2000, which was 29 years, among the shortest periods of any European country, according to the working life indicator.

And it looks set to increase further in coming years since Luxembourg reformed its early retirement law on 30 November 2017, with a view to increasing the employment of senior citizens and raising the retirement age.

The EU average duration of work was 35.9 years in 2017, up from 32.9 in 2000. The shortest average duration was recorded in Turkey at 29 years while in Iceland, people could expect to work on average 47 years before retiring.