Learn about key findings about young peoples’ lives in the EU.
The European Commission has published a new report, The Situation of young people in the European Union, that explores the ‘main challenges and trends shaping the lives of young people across the EU.’ 1
The report’s data is sourced from Eurostat data, Eurobarometer Surveys and the Youth Wiki. In the context of ‘young people’ the report covers those between 15 and 29 years-old and in some areas will split this into age brackets of 15 to 19, 20 to 24 and 25 to 29. The data is from EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye (Erasmus+ programme countries). For context, ’73 million young people live in the EU’ with ‘16% of people in the EU aged 15-29’. 2
The data covers a range of topics including:
- political participation
- employment and entrepreneurship
- mobility
- the digital world
- climate change and the green transition
- education and learning
- health and wellbeing
- social inclusion
- youth work
What are the key issues and trends?
Some of the key findings about young Europeans include:
- Over 70% of 15-24 year old’s have voted in recent elections
- 60% of 15-24 year olds have a positive perception of the EU
- More than 1 in 10 young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET)
- 6% of working young people are self-employed
- 43% of young people participate in one or more activities in a member state (such as study, work or cultural activities)
- 14% of young people are aware of being exposed to fake news very often, 27% often and 37% sometimes
- Young people ranked climate change as the most serious problem facing the world (with poverty, hunger and a lacking of drinking water second and armed conflicts third)
- 61% of young people were involved in actions against climate change in 2023 (compared to 43% in 2013)
- 43% of young people completed upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education in 2023
- 11% of young men leave early education and training compared to 8% of women
- 46% of young people experienced emotional or psychological problems in the previous 12 months
- Most 15-24 year olds described their current emotional status positively such as 43% identifying it as hopeful
- 25% of young people are at risk of poverty and social exclusion
- Almost 1 in 10 of young people are at risk of poverty while working 2, 3
Read the highlight infographics
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References
- Youth Wiki (2025) ‘The situation of young people in the European Union – EU Youth report 2024’. Available at: https://national-policies.eacea.ec.europa.eu/youthwiki/publications/the-situation-of-young-people-in-the-european-union-eu-youth-report-2024 (Accessed: 29 April 2025)
- European Union (2025)’The situation of young people in the European Union EU youth report 2024 : infographic’. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/168a7f7f-0934-11f0-b1a3-01aa75ed71a1/language-en (Accessed 29 April 2025)
- European Union (2025) ‘The situation of young people in the European Union EU youth report 2024’ Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/8e36df66-20b7-11f0-af23-01aa75ed71a1/language-en (Accessed: 29 April 2025)
