About 45,000 young people in Denmark are neither working nor in education, according to figures reported by the newspaper Arbejderen.
Arbejderen reports that 44,600 people aged 15 to 24 are without a job and without education. The count comes from an analysis by the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, known as AE. Per AE, that is an increase of roughly 1,800 compared with the previous year.
The AE analysis is based on data from September 2024, the latest year covered. It states that 6.6 percent of 15 to 24 year olds were outside both work and education in 2024. The equivalent share was 6.3 percent in 2023.
AE also places the numbers in a longer perspective. The share stood at 7.0 percent in 2016, so the decline over those years has been small. Statistics Denmark uses the same measure under the term NEET, meaning not in employment, education or training.
What other outlets and officials report
Politiken reported the same AE finding, including the total of 44,600 and the rise from 6.3 to 6.6 percent. According to Politiken, the government treats the issue as a political priority. The paper’s coverage is available here.
The CPH Post added a geographic breakdown of the same data. It reported that the share of young people without jobs or education rose in 68 of Denmark’s 98 municipalities from 2023 to 2024.
The OECD reaches a similar total in its 2026 economic survey of Denmark, published on the website of the Danish Ministry of Finance. The survey states that about 45,000 young people in Denmark are NEET. It notes that many of them have been inactive for more than three years.
As stated by the OECD, the main obstacles are mental health challenges and a lack of specialised support. The organisation points to these factors as reasons the group remains outside work and schooling for long periods.
Headspace says the Ministry of Employment and national partners have launched an initiative called Ungeløftet. According to Headspace, the aim is to move about 43,000 young people without jobs or education closer to work or study in Denmark.
Counts differ somewhat between sources. Ritzau, via Danish News in English, reported a rise from about 42,000 to just under 43,000 since the end of 2022. That figure covers a different time point than the AE analysis, which reports 44,600.
The immediate driver of the numbers now in circulation is AE’s updated analysis of youth without work or education. AE notes that its figures reflect September 2024, the most recent year available in the study.
