Jon Coles, director general of schools for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), revealed the findings at a Westminster Education Forum last month.
He quoted research from "one city in the North" that had gone back to monitor the progress of long-term Neets who had left the education system 10 years ago.
"They found one profoundly shocking thing, of their long-term Neets who had been out of the system for a long time," said Coles. "Fifteen per cent of those young people of 10 years ago were dead when that research was done".
Coles said he hoped that the research was not representative of the country as a whole, but added: "For those who console ourselves with the thought that education is not a matter of life and death, actually for those young people, for the most vulnerable children and young people in our society, it really is."
A DCSF spokewoman said: "To extrapolate on what Jon Coles said to paint a national picture is completely misleading. However, it is clear that young people who are Neet are at greater risk of poor health and negative outcomes in later life, which is one of the key reasons we see reducing the Neet numbers as such a high priority."
She also pointed out that only one per cent of young people are currently classified as long-term Neets, which requires them not to be in employment, education or training from the age of 16 onwards.
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