A person standing on a crossroad, with arrows pointing in different directions.

In 2025, the share of young people aged 15 to 29 neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) in the EU stood at 11.0%, down from 11.1% in 2024 and 15.2% in 2015. This brings the EU closer to achieving its goal of reducing NEET rates among young people to 9% by 2030, as set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The NEET rate among young people varied by age. Among the youngest (15-19 years), only 5.3% were NEET, while the rate more than doubled for those aged 20-24 (12.8%) and 25-29 (14.7%).

The lowest NEET rates for young people were registered in the Netherlands (5.3%), Sweden (5.9%) and Slovenia (7.6%). In contrast, the highest rates were in Romania (19.2%), Bulgaria (13.8%) and Greece (13.6%).

Young people neither in employment nor in education and training, 2015 and 2025 (% of young people aged 15-29). Chart. See link to the full dataset below.

 

Source dataset: edat_lfse_20

Between 2015 and 2025, the NEET rate decreased in 22 of 27 EU countries. The largest drops were registered in Italy (12.4 percentage points (pp), from 25.7% to 13.3%), Greece (10.5 pp, from 24.1% to 13.6%) and Croatia (9.0 pp, from 19.8% to 10.8%).

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Methodological note

The indicator on young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) corresponds to the percentage of the population aged 15 to 29 that are not employed and not involved in further (formal or non-formal) education or training. It provides information on the transition from education to work and focuses on the number of young people who find themselves disengaged from both education and the labour market.

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