About 2.06 million people aged 20 to 29 were self-employed in the EU in 2025.
That figure represented 7.9% of all self-employed people aged 20 to 64 across the bloc, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.
Slovakia had the highest share of young entrepreneurs among self-employed people aged 20 to 64, at 12.2%, followed by Malta at 10.5% and Romania at 10.3%.
Ireland recorded the lowest share at 5.1%, followed by Bulgaria at 5.3% and Spain at 5.9%.
Youth employment rate rises since 2015
The EU employment rate for people aged 20 to 29 was 65.6% in 2025 — up 6.3 percentage points from 2015, Eurostat said.
The Netherlands had the highest youth employment rate at 84.0%, followed by Malta at 82.1% and Germany at 77.0%.
Italy recorded the lowest rate at 47.6%, followed by Romania at 52.0% and Bulgaria at 52.7%.
