Luxembourg is one of just two EU countries whose youth move away, on average, before they turn 20 Photo: Shutterstock

Luxembourg is one of just two EU countries whose youth move away, on average, before they turn 20 Photo: Shutterstock

Young people in Luxembourg leave the nest at the age of 19.8, on average, according to the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Only Swedish youth leave home sooner, at 17.5 years old on average. Meanwhile, on the upper end of the spectrum are Croatia (32.4), Slovakia (30.9) and Italy and Malta (both 30.2). The Europe-wide average is 26.4, .

Geographically, the trends skew on a north–south basis: youth in Mediterranean countries generally stay at home until their mid-20s or early 30s, while in Scandinavia and the Benelux the average age is lower. 

Luxembourg also scored among the smallest gender gaps when it comes to youth leaving home: boys move away about 0.4 years later than girls in the grand duchy. Only (again) in Sweden is the gap smaller, at 0.1. Romania had the widest divide in this regard, with girls leaving 4.5 years sooner than boys (25.5 years old versus 30.0).

 In the EU, nobody remains in their parental home longer than Croatian boys  Photo: Eurostat

 In the EU, nobody remains in their parental home longer than Croatian boys  Photo: Eurostat