Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium

Belgium: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total was 8.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
8.1%
Change on year
up 20.4%
World rank
104th
of 124 countries
All-time high
14.1%
in 1985
All-time low
6.7%
in 2021
Years of data
42
1983–2024

Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium, 1983–2024

0510151983200320241983: 13.9 % of youth population1984: 13.6 % of youth population1985: 14.1 % of youth population1986: 12.6 % of youth population1987: 12.8 % of youth population1988: 10.8 % of youth population1989: 9.3 % of youth population1990: 8.4 % of youth population1991: 8.7 % of youth population1992: 8.3 % of youth population1993: 10.2 % of youth population1994: 10.9 % of youth population1995: 10.3 % of youth population1996: 9.4 % of youth population1997: 9.5 % of youth population1998: 13.9 % of youth population1999: 11.3 % of youth population2000: 9 % of youth population2001: 9.1 % of youth population2002: 9.8 % of youth population2003: 10.3 % of youth population2004: 8.5 % of youth population2005: 13 % of youth population2006: 11.2 % of youth population2007: 11.2 % of youth population2008: 10.1 % of youth population2009: 11.1 % of youth population2010: 10.9 % of youth population2011: 11.8 % of youth population2012: 12.3 % of youth population2013: 12.7 % of youth population2014: 12 % of youth population2015: 12.2 % of youth population2016: 9.9 % of youth population2017: 9.9 % of youth population2018: 9.8 % of youth population2019: 9.2 % of youth population2020: 10 % of youth population2021: 6.7 % of youth population2022: 7.1 % of youth population2023: 6.8 % of youth population2024: 8.1 % of youth population

Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of youth population.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium is 8.1%, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of up 20.4% on the previous year and down 32.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium peaked at 14.1% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2021.

That places Belgium 104th out of 124 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 42 years of available data.

Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium, year by year

Annual values for Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) in Belgium, 1983 to 2024.
Year % of youth population Change
1983 13.9%
1984 13.6% -1.9%
1985 14.1% +3.6%
1986 12.6% -10.5%
1987 12.8% +1.5%
1988 10.8% -15.7%
1989 9.3% -14.2%
1990 8.4% -9.6%
1991 8.7% +3.9%
1992 8.3% -4.8%
1993 10.2% +23.3%
1994 10.9% +6.6%
1995 10.3% -5.8%
1996 9.4% -8.3%
1997 9.5% +1.1%
1998 13.9% +45.3%
1999 11.3% -18.3%
2000 9.0% -20.1%
2001 9.1% +0.2%
2002 9.8% +7.9%
2003 10.3% +5.6%
2004 8.5% -17.3%
2005 13.0% +52.3%
2006 11.2% -13.6%
2007 11.2% -0.7%
2008 10.1% -9.2%
2009 11.1% +9.3%
2010 10.9% -1.9%
2011 11.8% +8.7%
2012 12.3% +4.5%
2013 12.7% +2.7%
2014 12.0% -5.0%
2015 12.2% +1.1%
2016 9.9% -18.8%
2017 9.9% -0.3%
2018 9.8% -0.5%
2019 9.2% -5.6%
2020 10.0% +8.0%
2021 6.7% -33.4%
2022 7.1% +6.8%
2023 6.8% -4.8%
2024 8.1% +20.4%

Belgium compared with similar countries

  • Belgium's 8.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 10.1%, 81% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
  • Belgium's 8.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.2%, 80% of the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 12.5% 9.3% 14.1% 7
1990s 10.1% 8.3% 13.9% 10
2000s 10.3% 8.5% 13.0% 10
2010s 11.1% 9.2% 12.7% 10
2020s 7.7% 6.7% 10.0% 5

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 101 Slovakia 8.8% compare
  2. 102 Australia 8.5% compare
  3. 103 Finland 8.3% compare
  4. 105 Croatia 8.1% compare
  5. 106 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 8.0% compare
  6. 107 Malta 7.8% compare

See the full ranking of 143 places →

More work & labour data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium?
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium was 8.1% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 14.1% in 1985.
What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2021.
How does Belgium rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total?
Belgium ranks 104th out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium. Statizoid, drawing on Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-youth-not-in-education-employment-or-training-total-percent-of-youth-population-2/belgium/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-youth-not-in-education-employment-or-training-total-percent-of-youth-population-2/belgium/">Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Belgium</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population)
Unit
% of youth population
Source
Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
143 places, 2,755 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).