EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29

Italy had the highest young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29 of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 24.3%. The Netherlands had the lowest, at 6.3%. The median was 13.3% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 14.5%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest24.3Italy

Lowest6.3Netherlands

Median13.327 EU countries

European Union (27)14.5History

Map of EU countries, 2016

Under 9
9 to 12
12 to 14
14 to 18
18 and over

%, 2016. Source: Eurostat, Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2016

%. Source: Eurostat, Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2016 (%)	Change on 2015
1	Italy	24.3	-1.4 pts
2	Bulgaria	22.4	+0.2 pts
3	Greece	22.2	-1.9 pts
4	Romania	20.2	-0.7 pts
5	Croatia	19.4	-0.4 pts
6	Spain	18.1	-1.3 pts
7	Cyprus	18	-0.5 pts
8	Slovakia	15.9	-1.3 pts
9	Ireland	14.5	-2 pts
10	France	14.3	-0.4 pts
11	Estonia	14.1	+0.9 pts
11	Hungary	14.1	-1 pts
13	Poland	13.8	-0.8 pts
14	Latvia	13.3	-0.5 pts
15	Belgium	13	-1.4 pts
16	Portugal	12.7	-0.4 pts
17	Finland	11.7	-0.7 pts
18	Czechia	11.1	-0.7 pts
19	Slovenia	10.9	-1.4 pts
20	Lithuania	10.7	-1.1 pts
21	Malta	9.4	-2.4 pts
22	Austria	8.9	+0.2 pts
22	Germany	8.9	+0.4 pts
24	Denmark Series break	8.4	-0.1 pts
25	Sweden	7.1	-0.3 pts
26	Luxembourg	6.8	-0.8 pts
27	Netherlands	6.3	-0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 15 to 29 who are not employed and received no formal or non-formal education or training in the four weeks before the survey, as a percentage of all people aged 15 to 29 (EU Labour Force Survey).

Counts both unemployed young people and those outside the labour force. The denominator is the whole age group, so it is not the youth unemployment rate. The EU target is below 9% by 2030.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20) (EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table

MLA 9

Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20), EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016. Eurostat, European Commission, 10 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20), EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_young_2016,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat\_lfse\_20): EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat\_lfse\_20). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat\_lfse\_20/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20): EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/10
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/neet-rate-15-29/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_20/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29 using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29?

Italy, with 24.3% in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), ages 15 to 29?

The Netherlands, with 6.3% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET), not employed, 15 to 29 years (edat_lfse_20). Retrieved 2026-10-12.