Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total was 14.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom, 1983–2025
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 United Kingdom is 14.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom peaked at 21.8% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 10.5%, in 2004.
That places United Kingdom 68th out of 124 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 39 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % of youth population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 21.8% | — |
| 1984 | 20.1% | -7.8% |
| 1985 | 19.4% | -3.7% |
| 1986 | 19.4% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 17.5% | -10.1% |
| 1988 | 15.9% | -9.0% |
| 1989 | 13.0% | -18.5% |
| 1990 | 13.1% | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 15.7% | +19.5% |
| 1992 | 16.3% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 17.8% | +9.3% |
| 1994 | 17.1% | -4.1% |
| 1999 | 11.0% | -35.9% |
| 2000 | 10.7% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 10.7% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 11.0% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 11.1% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 10.5% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 13.9% | +31.8% |
| 2006 | 14.3% | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 14.3% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 14.5% | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 15.9% | +9.2% |
| 2010 | 16.2% | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 16.6% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 16.2% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 15.4% | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 14.0% | -9.1% |
| 2015 | 12.9% | -7.8% |
| 2016 | 12.7% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 12.3% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 12.3% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 12.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 12.6% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 11.4% | -9.5% |
| 2022 | 11.8% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 12.8% | +8.4% |
| 2024 | 14.3% | +11.7% |
| 2025 | 14.4% | +0.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 14.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.1%, 1.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 14.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.2%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -35.9% | 17.1% | 11.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 18.2% | 13.0% | 21.8% | 7 |
| 1990s | 15.2% | 11.0% | 17.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 12.7% | 10.5% | 15.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 12.3% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.9% | 11.4% | 14.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More work & labour data for United Kingdom
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 22,956 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 60.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 35,770 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.93 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.07 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 111,361 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 100,223 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 57.91 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.47 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.4352 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in United Kingdom was 14.4% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 21.8% in 1983.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.5% in 2004.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total?
- United Kingdom ranks 68th out of 124 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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).