Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Young people in the European Union are leaving their parents' home at an average age of 26.2 years, according to figures from last year (2024), a slight decrease from 26.3 years in 2023.
Since 2002, this average has fluctuated slightly between a low of 26.1 years in 2019 and a high of 26.8 years in 2006, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels.
The highest average ages for leaving the parental home, at 30 years and older, were recorded in Croatia (31.3 years), Slovakia (30.9 years), Greece (30.7 years), Italy (30.1 years), and Spain (30.0 years). In contrast, the lowest average ages were recorded in Finland (21.4 years), Denmark (21.7 years), and Sweden (21.9 years). While housing costs are an ongoing public debate, data shows that young people are more affected by housing costs. In 2024, 9.7% of young people (aged 15–29) in the European Union lived in households that spent 40% or more of their disposable income on housing (housing cost overburden rate), compared to 8.2% of the total population.
In 2024, there were significant differences across EU countries in this rate. Greece (30.3%) and Denmark (28.9%) had the highest housing cost overburden rates, far surpassing those of the Netherlands (15.3%), Germany (14.8%), and Sweden (13.5%). On the other hand, Croatia (2.1%), Cyprus (2.8%), and Slovenia (3.0%) had the lowest housing cost overburden rates. In 16 EU countries, the housing cost burden was higher among those aged 15 to 29 than among the general population. The largest gap between these two groups was 14.3 percentage points in Denmark, followed by the Netherlands at 8.4 percentage points.
In some countries where young people tend to leave home early, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Finland, the housing cost burden is higher for young people.
Countries where young people leave their parents' homes later, such as Cyprus, Croatia, and Italy, tend to report lower levels of housing cost burden. However, in Greece, despite young people leaving home later, the housing cost burden remains high.