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Share of young people not in education, employment or training

What you should know about this indicator

Share of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) is the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment, or training to the population of the corresponding age group: youth (ages 15 to 24); persons ages 15 to 29; or both age groups.

World Bank variable id: SL.UEM.NEET.ZS

Original source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. Data retrieved in March 1, 2020.

Aggregation method: Weighted Average

Statistical concept and methodology: The standard definition of unemployed persons is those individuals without work in a recent past period, and currently available for and seeking for employment. But there may be persons who do not actively "seek" work because they view job opportunities as limited, or because they have restricted labour mobility, or face discrimination, or structural, social or cultural barriers. NEET rates capture more broadly untapped potential youth, including such individuals who want to work but are not seeking work (often called the "hidden unemployed" or "discouraged workers").

Youth are defined as persons ages 15 to 24; young adults are those ages 25 to 29; and adults are those ages 25 and above. However, countries vary somewhat in their operational definitions. In particular, the lower age limit for young people is usually determined by the minimum age for leaving school, where this exists.

Limitations and exceptions: Data should be used cautiously because of differences in age coverage.

Source
World Bank (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
July 10, 2023
Date range
1976–2022
Unit
%

Related research and writing

Sustainable development goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Our World in Data team

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The World Bank EdStats database offers a comprehensive array of over 8,000 internationally comparable indicators related to education access, progression, completion, literacy, teachers, demographics, and expenditures. It covers the education cycle from pre-primary to vocational and tertiary education, including data on learning outcomes from assessments like PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, equity data from household surveys, and educational projections up to 2050.

Retrieved on
July 26, 2023
Retrieved from
https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?source=Education%20Statistics
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank Education Statistics (EdStats), World Bank, 2023. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Share of young people not in education, employment or training”. Our World in Data (2024). Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/youth-not-in-education-employment-training [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

World Bank (2023) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

World Bank (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. “Share of young people not in education, employment or training” [dataset]. World Bank, “World Bank Education Statistics (EdStats) 2023” [original data]. Retrieved July 26, 2024 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/youth-not-in-education-employment-training