Staff in a central government sociail security office in Asturias. P. Ucha

Employment

Over half civil of servants in Spain near retirement age

An OECD report places the country second only to Italy in the proportion of national government civil servants over the age of 55 - at 47.7%

E. Martínez / Neil Hesketh

Madrid / Malaga

Friday, 20 June 2025, 17:26

One in two public sector employees currently working across national government ministries and agencies will retire within the next ten years.

Spain is set to experience a wave of retirements this decade due to the ageing nature of its public sector workforce, according to the OECD's latest report, Government at a Glance 2025. The report places Spain second only to Italy in the proportion of national government civil servants over the age of 55 - at 47.7%, well above the OECD average of 27%.

Italy, with 51% of its civil servants aged over 55, is the only one of the 34 developed countries within the OECD to surpass Spain. Greece and Portugal also have high percentages, with over 40% of their public employees nearing retirement age. In contrast, the UK has 21.4% over 55, Ireland, 23.9% and Canada 18.1%.