In the European Union (EU), more than one third (35.3%) of males aged 25 to 34 were still living with their parents in 2017, compared with only one fifth (21.7%) of females in the same age group. On average, around one young adult in four (28.5%) still lives in the parental home.
Across the EU Member States, the share of young people aged 25 to 34 who were living with their parents ranged from less than 10% in Denmark (3.2%), Finland (4.7%) and Sweden (6.0%), to more than half in Croatia (59.7%), Slovakia (57.0%) and Greece (56.3%).
Data shows that on average young people leave the parental household at the age of 26 years in the EU Member States. However, this age varies significantly among the Member States.
Young people in Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and Finland youngest to fly the nest
In 2017, young people left home earliest in the three northern Member States – Sweden (18.5 years), Denmark (21.1 years) and Finland (22.0 years), as well as in Luxembourg (20.1 years). Young people also tended to leave home before the age of 25 in Estonia (22.2 years), Germany, France, and the Netherlands (all 23.7 years) as well as the United Kingdom (24.7 years).
In Croatia, Slovakia, Malta and Italy young people move out at around 30
At the opposite end of the scale, young adults in Croatia and Slovakia remained the longest in the parental household. They left home at an average age of 31.8 and 30.9 respectively. Young adults in Malta (30.7 years), Italy (30.1 years), Bulgaria (29.6 years), Spain (29.5 years), Greece (29.3 years) and Portugal (28.9 years) also remained with their parents for longer.
Men stay longer at home than women
In almost all Member States, young women tended to leave the parental household earlier than men. The exception was Sweden (18.5 years for women, compared with 18.4 for men). The highest differences between the genders were registered in Romania (25.6 years for women, compared with 30.5 for men), Bulgaria (27.5 vs. 31.7), Croatia (30.0 vs. 33.6), Greece (28.0 vs. 30.6), Hungary (25.8 vs. 28.3), Poland (26.3 vs. 28.8), Slovakia (29.7 vs. 32.1) and Lithuania (24.5 vs. 26.9).
