Across the European Union, a small but growing cohort of teenagers is starting businesses. According to the latest Eurostat figures, roughly 69,000 entrepreneurs aged 15 to 19 are active in the bloc, a 10% increase since 2022. The Netherlands and Italy lead in absolute numbers, with around 12,000 and 11,000 teenage entrepreneurs respectively. This development offers a bright spot for Italy, which otherwise struggles with the EU's lowest youth employment rate among 20-to-29-year-olds, at just 48%.
Young Entrepreneurs by the Numbers
Zooming out to the broader 20-to-29 age bracket, more than two million young people across the EU are self-employed or running businesses, representing 8% of the workforce in that age group. The highest rates are in Slovakia (12%), Malta (10.5%), and Romania (10%). A cluster of countries—the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Latvia, Cyprus, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Croatia, Denmark, and Lithuania—all report rates between 8% and 10%. At the lower end, Ireland and Bulgaria both stand at 5%, while Spain reaches 6%.
The teenage segment is heavily male-dominated: about 47,000 of the 69,000 are boys, compared to 22,000 girls. Beyond the EU, Turkey records an even larger surge, with nearly 33,000 teens already running their own businesses.
Business-Friendly Ecosystems Across Europe
For those considering entrepreneurship, the EU offers a diverse landscape of incentives. Estonia remains one of the most digitally advanced and business-friendly jurisdictions: companies can be registered entirely online, and the tax system imposes 0% on reinvested profits, taxing only distributed dividends. Portugal provides a low-cost entry point, with business registration often costing as little as €360.
Ireland continues to attract with a 12.5% corporate tax rate, one of the lowest in Europe, coupled with a 25% R&D tax credit that rises to 30% for companies established from 2024. For capital-intensive innovation, the Netherlands offers a 36% rebate on the first €380,000 invested in R&D activities. Cyprus, which raised its corporate tax from 12.5% to 15% in 2026, still maintains a competitive environment with a 0% withholding tax on dividends for non-resident shareholders and a reduced rate for residents, now at 5%.
For smaller businesses, Lithuania's SME regime is particularly attractive. Enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and annual revenues below €300,000 pay 0% corporate tax in their first year and 7% thereafter, compared to the standard 16%. Additionally, the share of taxes on total labour costs is only 5.5%, the second-lowest in the EU.
Youth Employment: A Tale of Two Europes
While teen entrepreneurship is rising, the broader youth job market reveals stark disparities. Eurostat reports that about 66% of young people aged 20 to 29 are employed across the EU, up six percentage points over the past decade. The Netherlands leads with an impressive 84% employment rate, followed by Malta at 82% and Germany at 77%. At the other extreme, Italy's 48% rate is the lowest in the bloc, even trailing non-EU countries Serbia (55%) and North Macedonia (50%). Romania and Bulgaria also hover just above the 50% mark.
These figures underscore the uneven economic opportunities for young Europeans. The rise of teen entrepreneurs in Italy and the Netherlands may signal a shift in attitudes toward self-employment, but it remains to be seen whether this trend can compensate for persistent structural weaknesses in national labour markets. As the EU debates policies to foster innovation and job creation, the contrasting experiences of its member states offer both lessons and cautionary tales.
