Leaving home in the EU, 2025: the age young people move out of their parents' home
Published
In 2025, the estimated age at which young people in the EU left the parental home was 26.3, up from 26.2 in 2024. It ranged from 31.5 in Croatia to 21.3 in Finland. Women left earlier than men in 26 of the 27 countries. Here are the figures for all 27.
In 2025, young people in the EU left their parents' home at an estimated age of 26.3, according to Eurostat. That is slightly higher than the 26.2 recorded in 2024. Behind the EU figure there is a gap of more than ten years between countries: 31.5 in Croatia and 21.3 in Finland.
How the age is estimated
The figure is not the average of the ages at which each person moved out. Eurostat estimates it from the EU Labour Force Survey, which records whether respondents live in the same household as their parents. For each single year of age from 15 to 34, it calculates the share of people who no longer live with their parents, separately for men and women. The published age is the age at which 50% of young people no longer live in a household with their parents.
In practice, this means that at the age in the table, half of the people of that age have left the parental home and half have not.
The table
Estimated age of leaving the parental home, 2025, ranked from the highest to the lowest. The last column gives the total for 2021, the first year of the current series.
| Rank | Country | Total | Women | Men | Men minus women, years | Total, 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia | 31.5 | 30.0 | 32.8 | 2.8 | 33.2 |
| 2 | Greece | 30.9 | 29.4 | 32.2 | 2.8 | 30.7 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 30.9 | 29.5 | 32.2 | 2.7 | 30.9 |
| 4 | Italy | 30.2 | 29.3 | 30.9 | 1.6 | 29.9 |
| 4 | Spain | 30.2 | 29.6 | 30.8 | 1.2 | 30.2 |
| 6 | Portugal | 28.8 | 28.1 | 29.6 | 1.5 | 33.3 |
| 6 | Slovenia | 28.8 | 27.5 | 30.0 | 2.5 | 29.6 |
| 8 | Bulgaria | 27.9 | 26.0 | 29.7 | 3.7 | 30.0 |
| 9 | Malta | 27.5 | 27.8 | 27.3 | -0.5 | 28.3 |
| 10 | Romania | 27.4 | 25.3 | 29.4 | 4.1 | 28.0 |
| 11 | Hungary | 27.3 | 26.2 | 28.5 | 2.3 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Cyprus | 27.0 | 26.1 | 27.8 | 1.7 | 27.7 |
| 13 | Ireland | 26.9 | 26.4 | 27.5 | 1.1 | 27.8 |
| 14 | Poland | 26.8 | 25.7 | 27.9 | 2.2 | 28.4 |
| 15 | Luxembourg | 26.6 | 26.3 | 26.9 | 0.6 | 26.8 |
| 16 | Belgium | 26.2 | 25.6 | 26.9 | 1.3 | 26.2 |
| 17 | Czechia | 25.8 | 24.4 | 27.2 | 2.8 | 25.9 |
| 18 | Latvia | 25.7 | 24.2 | 27.0 | 2.8 | 26.6 |
| 19 | Austria | 25.2 | 24.3 | 26.0 | 1.7 | 25.3 |
| 20 | Germany | 24.1 | 23.3 | 24.8 | 1.5 | 23.8 |
| 21 | France | 23.8 | 22.9 | 24.6 | 1.7 | 23.6 |
| 22 | Netherlands | 23.4 | 22.9 | 23.9 | 1.0 | 23.2 |
| 23 | Sweden | 23.1 | 22.6 | 23.5 | 0.9 | 22.0 |
| 24 | Estonia | 22.7 | 22.1 | 23.2 | 1.1 | 22.7 |
| 24 | Lithuania | 22.7 | 22.0 | 23.3 | 1.3 | 25.2 |
| 26 | Denmark | 21.8 | 21.6 | 22.1 | 0.5 | 21.7 |
| 27 | Finland | 21.3 | 20.7 | 21.8 | 1.1 | 21.5 |
| EU | 26.3 | 25.5 | 27.2 | 1.7 | 26.6 |
Where young people leave home latest
Five countries were at 30 or above in 2025. Croatia had the highest age, 31.5, followed by Greece and Slovakia (both 30.9) and Italy and Spain (both 30.2). Portugal and Slovenia (both 28.8) and Bulgaria (27.9) came next.
In all, 15 countries were above the EU figure of 26.3 and 12 were below it.
Where they leave earliest
At the other end, four countries were below 23. Finland had the lowest age, 21.3, followed by Denmark (21.8) and Estonia and Lithuania (both 22.7). Sweden (23.1), the Netherlands (23.4), France (23.8) and Germany (24.1) were also among the lowest.
This dataset does not say why the age differs so much between countries. Eurostat describes it as an approximate measure based on whether young people live in the same household as their parents, and the figures alone do not explain the gaps.
Women leave earlier than men
In 26 of the 27 countries, women left the parental home at a younger age than men. Across the EU, the age was 25.5 for women and 27.2 for men, a difference of 1.7 years.
The largest differences were in Romania, where men left 4.1 years later than women (29.4 against 25.3), and in Bulgaria, with 3.7 years (29.7 against 26.0). Croatia, Greece, Czechia and Latvia followed with 2.8 years each.
The smallest differences were in Denmark (0.5 years) and Luxembourg (0.6). Malta was the only country where women left later than men: 27.8 for women and 27.3 for men.
What changed since 2021
Eurostat marks a break in the series in 2021, so comparisons with earlier years need caution. Between 2021 and 2025, the EU figure moved from 26.6 to 26.3.
The age fell in 16 countries, rose in 7 and did not change in 4. The largest fall was in Portugal, from 33.3 to 28.8, followed by Lithuania (from 25.2 to 22.7) and Bulgaria (from 30.0 to 27.9). The largest rise was in Sweden, from 22.0 to 23.1.
Notes on the data
- Finland. The Eurostat news item of 15 September 2026 gives 21.4 for Finland in 2025. The database, last updated on 16 April 2026, gives 21.3, which is the figure used here; 21.4 is Finland's figure for 2024 in the same database.
- Coverage. All 27 countries have 2025 data, and Eurostat shows no flag on any 2025 value.
- Housing. Housing costs are not part of this dataset. For the share of income households spend on housing, see our article on the housing cost burden in Europe, and for recent price changes, house prices in the EU.
Country profiles: Croatia, Greece, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
Countries in this article
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Related
Sources
- Eurostat. Estimated average age of young persons leaving the parental household by sex (yth_demo_030), 2021 to 2025 (database update of 16 April 2026). accessed .
- Eurostat. When do young people leave the parental home? News item of 15 September 2026, with methodological notes. accessed .
- Eurostat. LFS specific topics, household statistics (lfst_hh), reference metadata. accessed .