Greeks Among the Oldest Young Adults to Leave Parental Home

Greece is in third place in Eurostat’s European ranking of the age at which young people start living independently. According to recent data, on average, Greeks leave their parents’ home at 30.7 years old.

As of 2022, on average, Europeans began living independently at the age of 26.4. However, this figure varies significantly from country to country.

In total, there are six countries in Europe whose young residents leave their parents‘ house after 30 years of age. The top two positions are occupied by Croatia and Slovakia with 33.4 years and 30.8 years respectively.

🏠🧑 When do young Europeans leave their parental home❓

In 2022, young people across the EU left their parental home on average at the age of 26.4 years.

This was highest in 🇭🇷 Croatia (33.4 years) and lowest in 🇫🇮 Finland (21.3 years).

👉 https://t.co/cIWgErurKa pic.twitter.com/c8mn8L4aMo

— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) September 4, 2023

The next countries on this list are Bulgaria and Spain with the same indicator of 30.3 years old, Malta (30.1 y/o), and Italy, where young people leave their parents at exactly 30 years old.

In terms of the opposite side of the rating, the Nordic countries had the lowest average. The lowest figure belongs to Finland – 21.3 years old, followed by Sweden (21.4 y/o), Denmark (21.7 y/o), and Estonia (22.7 y/o).

At the same time, 14 EU countries over the past 10 years have shown an increase in the average age of young people leaving their parents’ home. A significant jump was registered in Croatia (+1.8 years), Greece (+1.7), and Spain (+1.6).

In 2012, Sweden recorded the lowest average age in the EU in relation to when young people begin living separately, namely at 19.9 years old. However, in 10 years, this average age has increased by 1.5 years.

Men Leave Their Parental Home Later Than Women

As it turns out, in the European Union, men leave their parental home later than women do. The age of men was 27.3 years, while that of women was 25.4 years. This age difference was observed in all countries, indicating that young women began their independent lives earlier than young men.

Among EU countries, men on average left their parents’ home after the age of 30 in Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, and Portugal. Women, on the other hand, begin their separate life later than men only in Croatia.

The largest gender gap of 4.5 years was found in Romania, where young men left their parental home at an average age of 29.9, while women did so at 25.4. Romania was followed by Bulgaria with a gap of 4.1 years, where men started their independent life at an average of 32.3 and women at 28.2. In contrast, Luxembourg (0.5 year difference), Sweden (0.6 year), and Denmark and Malta (both 0.7 years) had the smallest gap between young men and women leaving their parental home.

Previous Data From Eurostat

In 2020, Eurostat revealed that Greece had a high percentage of young people, with almost six out of ten aged twenty-five to thirty-four living with their parents. Only Croatia surpassed Greece in this indicator among 30 European countries. Strong family ties in Greek culture, coupled with youth unemployment and rising rental costs, likely contributed to this trend.

Although families have shrunk in size, relationships remain close and extended families continue to play a significant role in Greek life. Among the barriers to independent living, the unemployment rate was mentioned, especially among those under 25 years of age.