Share of youth not in education, employment or training … total in Romania
Romania: Share of youth not in education, employment or training … total was 16.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Romania, 1997–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of youth population.
Analysis
Romania recorded 16.5% for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in 2025.
The figure is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Romania peaked at 21.4% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 14.5%, in 2018.
Romania ranks 55th of 126 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training … total in Romania, year by year
| Year | % of youth population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 19.8% | — |
| 1998 | 20.0% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 18.4% | -8.0% |
| 2000 | 17.5% | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 16.6% | -5.0% |
| 2002 | 21.3% | +28.2% |
| 2003 | 19.3% | -9.1% |
| 2004 | 21.4% | +10.5% |
| 2005 | 20.8% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 19.9% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 19.3% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 18.6% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 19.6% | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 16.6% | -15.2% |
| 2011 | 17.5% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 16.8% | -3.8% |
| 2013 | 17.0% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 17.0% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 18.1% | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 17.4% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 15.2% | -12.8% |
| 2018 | 14.5% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 14.7% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 14.8% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 18.0% | +22.1% |
| 2022 | 17.5% | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 16.5% | -5.6% |
| 2024 | 17.0% | +3.0% |
| 2025 | 16.5% | -3.1% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 16.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.4%, 1.8× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Romania's 16.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 9.5%, 1.7× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of youth not in education, employment or training … total in Romania changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +28.2% | 16.6% | 21.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.4% | 18.4% | 20.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 19.4% | 16.6% | 21.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.5% | 14.5% | 18.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.7% | 14.8% | 18.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Romania
- 52 Seychelles 17.8% compare
- 53 Ecuador 17.7% compare
- 54 Sri Lanka 17.2% compare
- 56 Ukraine 16.5% compare
- 57 Philippines 16.5% compare
- 58 Saudi Arabia 16.4% compare
More work & labour data for Romania
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7777 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7486 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.8063 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.18 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1264 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 10,932 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,465 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,408 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,360 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 10,768 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Romania?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in Romania was 16.5% in 2025, 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2004.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.5% in 2018.
- How does Romania rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total?
- Romania ranks 55th out of 126 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Romania 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.
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About this data
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).