A recent study reveals surprising differences in when young adults in Europe leave their parental homes, with many Southern and Balkan countries seeing people moving out around age 30 or even later. Cultural ties and economic challenges, like high rents and low wages, play a big role in this trend. In contrast, Nordic countries like Finland and Sweden have young adults leaving home much earlier, around age 21 or 22, often due to lower homeownership rates. This intriguing look at living arrangements across Europe highlights how culture and economics shape adulthood in unique ways.
In many nations, leaving home to start one’s own life is regarded as a fundamental aspect of adulthood.
It’s the figurative cutoff point at which society judges an individual competent to plan and manage their own life’s course.
However, not all cultures and family arrangements are the same, as Pallavi Rao of Visual Capitalist illustrates below. Economies might also occasionally affect one’s capacity to relocate.
Using data from Eurostat that covers the years up to 2023, order the European nations according to the average age at which people leave their parent’s homes.
At what age do Europeans usually move out?
Southern European nations, including those in the Balkans, tend to leave the maternal nest a little later in life.
Seven countries in the region have an average age of 30 or older for moving out.
| Country | Average Age Leaving Home (2023) |
|---|---|
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 32 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia* | 32 |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 31 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 31 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 30 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 30 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 30 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 29 |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 29 |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | 28 |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye* | 28 |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 28 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 28 |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 27 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 27 |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 27 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 27 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 26 |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | 26 |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | 25 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 25 |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 24 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 24 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 24 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 23 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 23 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 22 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 22 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 21 |
| 🇪🇺 EU | 26 |
A greater moving-out age is a result of a combination of economic forces (expensive rents relative to lower local income) and cultural factors (strong family ties).
The fact that the same nations have greater percentages of property ownership—Romania, Slovakia, and Croatia are all above 90%—indicates that living there is not a common alternative for citizens. This is another intriguing association.
Across the region, multigenerational families are also more prevalent as a carryover from a society that was more focused on agriculture, had a stronger Church, and had fewer welfare states and institutions.
However, the average age of moving out is between 21 and 22 in the Nordic nations of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. In a similar vein, their rates of homeownership are far lower.
Recently, GreatGameInternational reported on The World Happiness Report ranking countries where youth are the least happy, placing Mauritius, the USA, and Canada at the top of the list.
One Response
The young Cowards of Europe are like the young Cowards of North America;
They gave their Homeland to the Foreign Nazis
who gave it to 3rd World Criminals
and now they want to stay home with Mommy
the rest of their pathetic lives because Mommy
will protect them! 😁