From Childhood to Adulthood: The Growing Diversities of Youth
25, 30, 40, or 50 years old... Becoming an adult is increasingly a concept in perpetual transition.
Children and young adults, women and men, graduates and non-graduates, natives and immigrants, linguistic and cultural groups... all contribute to making youth in Luxembourg a multifaceted phenomenon.
Youth, once defined up to the age of 25, is here extended to 39 years old in order to better reflect the diversity of realities.
A youth diversifying over time
Between 2011 and 2021, Luxembourg's population experienced strong migratory dynamics, with a notable increase in the number of people born abroad, rising from 38.9% to 49.2% of the population. The total population thus grew by more than 130,000 people, an increase of 25%.
This evolution also affected young people. The population of those under 40 increased, with a growth of nearly 62,000 people. However, due to the aging population, the proportion of young people in the total population slightly decreased, from 51.4% in 2011 to 50.5% in 2021.
As for those under 20, the direct impact of migration is weaker. In 2021, less than a quarter of young people under 20 (23.9%) were born abroad, with the majority being born in Luxembourg. That said, a significant proportion of these young people come from immigrant families. In 2021, 68.9% of those under 20 had a mother born abroad, compared to 60.2% in 2011.
Among those under 40, the population born in Luxembourg has significantly increased in number, rising from 166,384 in 2011 to 184,984 in 2021. However, as the growth of young people born abroad is faster, the proportion of Luxembourgers has decreased, from 63.1% to 56.8%.
The countries of origin of young people reveal significant changes in migratory flows. In particular, the Portuguese-origin population, while still numerous, has decreased, especially among children under 10, whose numbers have halved. In contrast, the number of young people born in France and Italy has risen sharply. The greatest growth comes from young people born outside the 15 main countries of birth of residents.
This evolution highlights a major challenge: preparing for the reception, particularly in terms of schooling, of an increasingly diverse young population, extending beyond the borders of neighboring countries and even Europe.
Figure 1: Number of young people by age and country of birth in 2011 and 2021 - Source : STATEC, RP2021
This growing diversification of youth, in a broad sense, is also reflected in the complexity of the link between place of birth and nationality among young people: many young people, even those born in Luxembourg, are not Luxembourgish by nationality. However, the evolution of the legal system for acquiring Luxembourgish nationality has allowed a greater number of young people born to foreign mothers to become Luxembourgish, as shown by the strong increase from 64.2% to 85.3% (from 2011 to 2021) in the acquisition of Luxembourgish nationality among 20-39-year-olds born in Luxembourg whose mother was born abroad.
Entering working life
Entry into working life is marked by a succession of stages: first, leaving education, then the transition to the labour force, and finally finding a job. In 2021, the median school-leaving age for men will be around 22.5, compared with 23.5 for women, who will therefore finish their studies later.
After the age of 30, only 3% of men do not enter the labour force, mainly for medical or disability reasons; for women, the 10% of inactive women over the age of 30 are mainly mothers looking after their children, a choice more frequently observed among expatriate families living in Luxembourg.
From childhood to adulthood:
household types by age
Today, despite the increasing complexity of household forms, children most often live in a household formed by a couple. 18.3% of 15-19-year-olds live in a single-parent family, and 6.1% live in a multi-core household, characterized by the presence of other adults without family ties.
After the age of 20, transitions in household types accelerate as children gain independence. There is a noticeable diversification of household types, particularly between the ages of 25 and 34, with a strong presence of individuals living alone, in student or young worker shared housing, and an increase in couples without children. Beyond the age of 30, couples with children gradually become the majority, although other lifestyles continue.
Figure 2: Household types of young people by age in 2021 (%) - Source : STATEC, RP2021
From independent living to couple life,
and the birth of children
The stages of family life are more complex and less linear than those of professional life. The classic sequence — leaving the parental home, living as a couple, then having one or more children — follows an overall logic, but the transitions between these stages are less closely tied than those leading to employment.
In family matters, men tend to lag behind women. Thus, the median age for leaving the parental home is 26 for women and 27 for men. Half of women live as a couple by the age of 28, compared to 31 for men. Finally, the median age for having at least one child to care for is 32.5 for women and 35 for men.
Cultural differences in professional and family independence: early independence among lusophones
Transitions to professional and family independence vary according to cultural groups in Luxembourg, defined here by their primary language. Two main stages are used for comparison: "having a job" (measured between the ages of 22 and 26) and "having one or more children to care for" (measured between the ages of 33 and 37).
Overall, men tend to enter the workforce slightly earlier than women, except among German speakers, where longer studies delay their entry into the job market. In contrast, women reach parenthood more quickly, with a more pronounced gap between men and women on this indicator.
Lusophones stand out for their marked early transition in both areas. Between the ages of 22-26, 76.5% of Lusophone men are employed, compared to only 42.8% of German speakers. Similarly, among women aged 33-37, 78.1% of Lusophones have at least one child to care for, compared to 50.1% of Italian speakers.
Figure 3: Comparison of the ‘has a job’ threshold among 22–26-year-olds and the ‘has a child’ threshold among 33-37 year olds by main language spoken in 2021 - Source : STATEC, RP2021
In short, the Portuguese-speaking population is significantly ahead in terms of access to employment and parenthood, while the German-speaking population lags slightly behind on both fronts.
Delays in entry into professional
and family life between 2011 and 2021
Between 2011 and 2021, entry into working life and family life in Luxembourg has shifted overall to later ages. Transitions to employment take place around a year later, while the arrival of the first child is delayed by two years.
As far as access to employment is concerned, young people start working around the age of 22 or 23, with a more rapid and uniform transition between the first and last to enter the labour market. This change is particularly noticeable among women, for whom the traditional model of the stay-at-home mother has become marginal.
On the other hand, parenthood is not only delayed - with the first stages of this transition now taking place beyond the age of 30 - but also more spread out over time. This reflects a less structured timetable and a possible decline in the proportion of people crossing this threshold.
These trends highlight societal developments marked by a standardisation of career paths and greater flexibility in family trajectories.
Entering adulthood:
geographical disparities in luxembourg
The analysis of the entry thresholds into adulthood, through access to employment (22-26 years) and parenthood (33-37 years), reveals geographical disparities in Luxembourg.
Access to Employment
The early entry into employment is mainly observed in municipalities where young people pursue shorter studies. Thus, rural municipalities in the north, south, and east exhibit a quicker transition to employment. In contrast, municipalities near the capital, where the level of education is higher, see young people entering the labor market later.
Access to Parenthood
For the "having a child" threshold, municipalities characterized by a high proportion of single-family homes and medium-density housing are the most precocious. These areas, where the cost-to-quality ratio of housing remains attractive, encourage family settlement. By contrast, in the capital and its immediate surroundings, entry into parenthood is later, and in some cases, even difficult.
In summary, these dynamics highlight a centrifugal effect around the capital: settling into adulthood, whether professional or familial, is delayed compared to rural and suburban areas.
Map 1: Percentage of 22–26-year-olds (A) ‘in work’ and 33-37 year-olds (B) ‘with at least one child’ in 2021 - Source : STATEC,RP2021
Find out more about The Growing Diversities of Youth in Luxembourg
More results
In the coming months, various publications will be produced for the public, but also for the public specialised in demographic issues. At the same time, statistical tables on the various census topics will be published on the Statistics Portal.
Why is the census important?
Census results are essential information for public policy decision-making.
Census data help to forecast needs for land use planning, schools, nurseries, hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, housing, etc.
Pourquoi le recensement est-il important ? (Video/Audio YouTube)
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