Germans call in sick more than 20 days per year on average, much more than workers in other EU countries.
Without the increase in sick days, the German economy could have grown by around 0.5% in 2023, instead of retracting by 0.3%, a study by pharma industry association vfa estimated last year.
that’s not true: The system when and how Germans had to call in sick had changed 2 times due COVID, which affected the numbers.
Do you suspect it is a data alignment issue causing the discrepancy? Germany is very high up compared to other countries:
https://gateway.euro.who.int/en/indicators/hfa_411-2700-absenteeism-from-work-due-to-illness-days-per-employee-per-year/#id=19398&fullGraph=true