Logo Polskiego Radia

Rise in young adult Poles living with parents echoes European trend

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 07.01.2013 10:18
A growth in the number of young adult Poles living with their parents is echoing a European trend.

Photo:
Photo: Glowimages

According to figures compiled by Poland's Central Statistical Office (GUS), 44.4 percent of Poles between the ages of 25 and 34 were living with their parents in 2011.

This marks a rise of some 8 percent since 2005, with an estimated 2.8 million young adults living with their parents in 2011.

The figures put Poland on a similar level to crisis-stricken Italy, where according to Eurostat, 44.7 percent of young adults still live with their parents.

Other notably high proportions include Slovakia (56.4 percent), Bulgaria (55.7 percent), Malta (51.9 percent), Greece (50.7 percent), and Portugal (46.3 percent).

In Spain, where the unemployment level is 25 percent, young adults have been dubbed 'generation ni-ni' echoing the endemic phenomenon of neither study nor work (ni estudian, ni trabajan).

Speaking with the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, Dr Malgorzata Sikorska, a sociologist from the University of Warsaw, stressed financial reasons for the predicament of Poland's young adults.

“They cannot afford independence, they don't have any credit, they can't afford to either buy or rent a home,” she said.

Dr Agata Zygmunt from the University of Silesia also notes that Poles are getting married later, and that the number of marriages per year is dropping.

According to GUS, in the early nineties, half of Polish men getting married had not reached 25.

However, in 2010, only 20 percent of Polish men tying the knot were below 25.

Meanwhile, regarding the most independent young Europeans, less than 5 percent of young adults between 25 and 34 in Denmark, Finland and Sweden still live with their parents. (nh)

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us