The share of young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU who were not in work, education or training fell to 11.0% in 2025, down from 11.1% in 2024 and 15.2% in 2015.
The figures cover young people classed as NEET — meaning “neither in employment nor in education or training” — across the European Union, according to Eurostat's release issued on Thursday.
NEET rates differed by age group in 2025, with 5.3% of 15 to 19-year-olds in this category, rising to 12.8% among those aged 20 to 24 and 14.7% among 25 to 29-year-olds.
The Netherlands recorded the lowest NEET rate at 5.3%, followed by Sweden at 5.9% and Slovenia at 7.6%.
Wide differences across EU countries
The highest NEET rates were reported in Romania at 19.2%, Bulgaria at 13.8% and Greece at 13.6%.
Between 2015 and 2025, NEET rates fell in 22 of the EU’s 27 member states.
The largest declines over the decade were recorded in Italy, where the rate dropped by 12.4 percentage points from 25.7% to 13.3%, followed by Greece, down 10.5 points from 24.1% to 13.6%, and Croatia, down 9.0 points from 19.8% to 10.8%.
