In 2016, almost 1 in 3 young people aged 20-24 was neither in employment nor in education or training in Italy (29.1%), nearly 1 in 4 in Romania (23.6%), Greece (23.0%), Bulgaria and Cyprus (both 22.7%) and about 1 in 5 in Spain (21.2%) and Croatia (19.6%), the data showed.
In contrast, the lowest NEET rate among young people aged 20-24 was recorded in the Netherlands (6.9%), ahead of Malta (8.1%), Denmark (8.5%), Luxembourg (9.0%) and Sweden (9.3%).
At EU level, the equivalent of the total population of Ireland – almost 5 million young persons aged 20-24 (16.7%) – were in 2016 neither in employment nor in education or training.
The largest increases in the proportion of people aged 20-24 neither in employment nor in education or training were registered in Cyprus (from 13.7% to 22.7%, or +9.0 pp), Spain (+8.0 pp), Italy (+7.5 pp), Greece (+6.2 pp), Ireland (+5.1 pp), Romania (+4.7 pp), Portugal (+4.6 pp) and the United Kingdom (+4.2 pp).