In 2023, NEET rates among young adults varied considerably across EU countries, ranging from 4.8% in the Netherlands to 19.3% in Romania.
Reducing this rate is one of the targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The goal is to lower the NEET rate of young people aged 15-29 to 9% by 2030.
Data show that, in 2023, a third of the EU countries were already below the 2030 target of 9%, namely the Netherlands (4.8%), Sweden (5.7%), Malta (7.5%), Slovenia (7.8%), Luxembourg (8.5%), Ireland (8.5%), Denmark (8.6%), Germany (8.8%) and Portugal (8.9%).
Latvia is currently still above the 2030 target, but not by much, with a rate of 12%. It is a marked improvement on the rate of 16.6% a decade ago in 2014 and also an improvement on the 2022 figure or 13%.
Lithuania's rate for 2023 is 13.8% and Estonia's is 10.2%.
