Youth Info Survey 2025: Mobility and the Role of Youth Information

International learning mobility offers young people a wide range of opportunities for personal development and intercultural experiences. Nevertheless, many young people face specific challenges and barriers when planning and undertaking such opportunities, and youth information services play a key role in helping them overcome these. Against this backdrop, the German national report for the ‘Eurodesk Youth Info Survey 2025’ focuses on the specific information needs, motivations and obstacles faced by young people in Germany. The study compares this national perspective directly with European average values and examines how youth information services can better tailor their outreach in future.

The study is based on an analysis of the German sub-sample from Eurodesk’s Europe-wide quantitative online survey. The data set comprises 1,878 young people from Germany, most of whom are aged between 16 and 23 and were often recruited via the Eurodesk newsletter. The analysis covered information-seeking behaviour, the use of mobility programmes, and the perceived challenges and motivations both before and during a stay abroad in 2022 and 2023.

The results show that, whilst young people in Germany are just as open to spending time abroad as their European peers, there are specific differences in their motivations and barriers. Whilst formal obligations (such as educational requirements) or career considerations play a significantly lesser role in Germany, the desire for fun, new experiences and a break from everyday life predominates. The main barriers are, above all, a lack of time (46%), concerns about missing out on opportunities in their home country, and above-average climate-related concerns (41% in Germany compared to 29% in Europe). Also striking is the prominent role of the family environment: German young people rely significantly more often on family and relatives when searching for information and organising applications than the European average. When it comes to searching for information online, Instagram and YouTube dominate almost entirely, whilst other platforms such as Facebook or X are hardly used at all.

Overall, the report confirms that youth information services must adapt their strategies to the specific realities of life faced by the German target group. To reach young people effectively, there needs to be greater involvement of parents and families in advisory services, as well as a strategic focus on partner schools and selected social media channels. Furthermore, concrete support services are required to help overcome time management issues and mental barriers. The study thus provides a sound empirical basis for designing future-proof information campaigns, finding target-group-appropriate responses to climate concerns, and promoting the international engagement of young people in Germany in an even more targeted manner.