Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) was 16.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia, 2005–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 16.2% for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 17.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia peaked at 26.0% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2019.
Saudi Arabia ranks 107th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 25.7% | — |
| 2006 | 26.0% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 25.9% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 25.7% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 24.8% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 24.3% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 23.1% | -4.8% |
| 2013 | 22.1% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 20.8% | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 19.7% | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 17.5% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 16.7% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 15.6% | -6.9% |
| 2020 | 20.3% | +30.3% |
| 2021 | 19.2% | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 18.4% | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 17.0% | -7.5% |
| 2024 | 16.2% | -4.8% |
| 2025 | 16.2% | +0.4% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 16.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.6%, 1.5× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 16.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.4%, 64% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +30.3% | 15.6% | 20.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.8% | 25.7% | 26.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 20.2% | 15.6% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.9% | 16.2% | 20.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More work & labour data for Saudi Arabia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.6339 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5946 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.6842 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.31 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5985 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 40,709 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 4,348 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 31,198 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 39,809 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 71,007 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Saudi Arabia was 16.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 26.0% in 2006.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2019.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of)?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 107th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) (modeled ILO estimate). 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).