Youth
Youth is the term used to describe the period between childhood and adulthood. While this may be a fluid definition, it is also used in policy terms to refer to specific age groups. Providing a good environment for young people to grow up, learn and work is a key goal for Europe and for Eurofound – but one that faces particular challenges. Young people have long been an important focus of policy at EU level and this is particularly true today.
Latest
Find the latest content on this topic below.
31 July 2025
Promoting the well-being of children and tackling child poverty are key goals of the new European Commission. This report analyses trends and disparities in the accessibility of services for children that must be addressed to achieve this. Moreover, given that staff play an integral role in determining the quality and accessibility of these services, this report describes the state of play of staff working conditions and training opportunities. Good working conditions and affordable high-quality services, such as early childhood education and care, also play a key role in encouraging labour market participation and increasing productivity.
10 December 2024
This report analyses data from Eurofound’s 2021 European Working Conditions Telephone Survey and its 2022 Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, as well as data from official statistics, to examine employment trends, working conditions and the social situation of young people in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia). Employment trends are also presented for Türkiye. This report is part of Eurofound’s ongoing effort to support informed policymaking in EU accession countries through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). It is the first output from a project financed by the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) under the auspices of the IPA. Its aim is to provide knowledge that will support betterinformed social, employment and work-related policies in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. It offers a comparative perspective between the countries and with the EU based on sound statistical analysis and expert consultation.
December 2025
Europe is faced with a housing crisis that affects people of all ages, however younger people are disproportionately impacted. Many young adults are unable to afford their own home, often having to remain living in their parental home. This crisis has wide-reaching consequences, influencing opportunities for education and employment, household composition and formation, and both current and future well-being.
This report examines the housing situation across the EU, with a specific focus on young people. It addresses the following key questions: What are the main housing challenges facing the EU population, and how have they evolved over time? What gaps exist between current housing conditions and individuals’ desired living situations, especially among younger people? Finally, what policy measures could help alleviate the housing crisis, especially from a youth-centered perspective?
About Youth
Learn more about this topic and its relevance for EU policy making.
Highlights for Youth
This is a selection of the most important outputs for this topic.
21 May 2024
Becoming adults: Young people in a post-pandemic world
During the pandemic, many young people had to change their plans for the future. While at the end of 2023 young people’s labour market situation was more favourable than it had been in recent years, many obstacles remained on their route to independence, such as the rising cost of living and inability to move out of the parental home. This report explores young people’s wishes and plans for the future – and the well-being outcomes related to these plans – in the context of the current labour market and housing situation and progress on the implementation of the EU’s reinforced Youth Guarantee.
6 July 2022
Fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey: Living in a new era of uncertainty
The fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded from 25 March to 2 May 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after COVID-19 was first detected on the European continent. It also explores the reality of living in a new era of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, inflation, and rising energy prices.
The findings of the e-survey reveal the heavy toll of the pandemic, with respondents reporting lower trust in institutions than at the start of the pandemic, poorer mental well-being, a rise in the level of unmet healthcare needs and an increase in the number of households experiencing energy poverty.
16 December 2021
The impact of COVID-19 on young people in the EU
23 October 2020
Youth in a time of COVID
22 October 2020
Watch the webinar - Being young in the COVID-19 pandemic
3 July 2019
Inequalities in the access of young people to information and support services
In recent years, concerns have been expressed at EU and national level that the combined stresses arising from school, parental expectations and societal pressures can make the transition to adulthood difficult for young people – with the risk of a long-lasting negative impact. One way of easing the transition is to provide appropriate information and support services during these critical life-changing years. However, it appears that not all young people have access to such services. This report describes the characteristics of the young people who face most difficulties in accessing social and health services, the types of services most relevant to them and the main challenges they face in accessing information and support services. It also looks at what service providers can do to ensure they reach young people in need of their support and presents innovative examples of how to tackle inequalities in access to services.
Experts on Youth
Researchers at Eurofound provide expert insights and can be contacted for questions or media requests.
Eszter Sándor
Senior research managerEszter Sandor is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She has extensive experience in survey management, including questionnaire design and scripting, data preparation (processing, cleaning, weighting), and statistical analysis using R. She manages Eurofound’s e-survey (Living and working in the EU) and contributes to the preparation and management of the European Quality of Life Survey. Her research focuses on the quality of life of young people and families, including subjective well-being, mental well-being and living conditions.
Before joining Eurofound, she worked as an economic consultant in Scotland, specialising in economic impact assessments, evaluations, and input-output analysis. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Budapest University of Economics and Business and a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.
All content for Youth
This section provides access to all content that has been published on the topic.
