EU youth deprivation unchanged at 5.8% in 2025

In 2025, the severe material and social deprivation rate among young people (aged 15-29 years) in the EU was 5.8%, the same share as in 2024. The rate was slightly lower compared with the total population (6.3%).

The highest shares of young people who faced severe material and social deprivation were recorded in Romania (15.1%), Greece (14.7%) and Bulgaria (14.0%). By contrast, the rate was below 3.0% in 10 EU countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Czechia, Estonia, Cyprus, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Source dataset: ilc_mdsd11

Young people face a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion

In 2025, the overall at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) rate for young people aged 15-29 years was 24.2%, which was 3.3 percentage points (pp) higher than the rate for the total population (20.9%).

Looking at the specific AROPE components, young people had an at risk of poverty rate that was 3.3 pp higher than the general population (19.6% compared with 16.3% for the total population). In contrast, the share of those living in households with very low work intensity was only 0.3 pp higher among young people (8.2% compared with 7.9% for the total population).