The share of young people in the EU experiencing severe material and social deprivation remained at 5.8% in 2025, unchanged from 2024.
The severe material and social deprivation rate measures the proportion of people who cannot afford a range of basic needs and activities regarded as necessary for an acceptable standard of living, Eurostat reported on Wednesday.
The rate for 15 to 29-year-olds was slightly lower than for the total EU population, which stood at 6.3% in 2025.
Romania recorded the highest proportion of young people facing severe material and social deprivation at 15.1%, followed by Greece at 14.7% and Bulgaria at 14.0%.
The rate was below 3.0% in 10 EU countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Czechia, Estonia, Cyprus, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal.
Poverty or social exclusion risk higher among young people
The overall “at risk of poverty or social exclusion” rate for young people aged 15 to 29 was 24.2% in 2025, compared with 20.9% for the total population, Eurostat reported.
This indicator — often shortened to AROPE — combines people who are at risk of income poverty, severely materially and socially deprived, or living in households with very low work intensity.
Young people had an at risk of poverty rate of 19.6% in 2025, compared with 16.3% for the total population.
The share of young people living in households with very low work intensity was 8.2%, compared with 7.9% for the total population.
