One in Four Youth Worldwide Are Not Studying or Working: ILO

Around one in four young people worldwide can be classified as Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). This NEET rate provides a broad view of the barriers young people face entering the labor market. 

“The share of NEETs in the population is a more informative indicator of the scale of the youth employment challenge,” says Niall O’Higgins, Senior Employment Research Specialist, ILO.

In 2025, about 262 million individuals aged 15 to 24 fall into the NEET category, says ILO. This figure includes both unemployed youth and those who are neither seeking work nor engaged in formal education. The United Nations established reducing the NEET rate as part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.6 in 2015, making it a key measure of global progress toward integrating young people into the labor market. Despite this, only 110 countries, representing just over half of the world’s youth, are on track to meet the target. NEET rates have continued to rise in low-income countries following the COVID-19 pandemic, while upper-middle and high-income countries have seen more moderate changes.

NEET rates differ significantly by gender and location. Young women are disproportionately represented among NEETs, particularly in rural areas. In low and lower-middle-income countries, female NEET rates are often twice as high as those of males. NEET rates also decline with higher educational attainment, a trend not observed in traditional youth unemployment measures. Recent statistical revisions classify young people engaged in unpaid work, such as subsistence agriculture, as NEET if they are not studying, further highlighting the vulnerability of these populations.

Policy approaches have begun to reflect this broader understanding. Programs such as the European Union’s Youth Guarantee, introduced in 2014 and expanded in 2020, target all NEETs, recognizing that obstacles in the school-to-work transition extend beyond the labor market itself. Similar initiatives have been adapted in non-EU countries with ILO support, addressing challenges faced by young women, youth with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.