From Novinite

The UK is now the ‘Neet’ capital of Western Europe - "
not in employment, education or training"
- according to an analysis of the performance of youngsters across the continent, cited in The Daily Mail, which says that the UK has more people without work or education than EVEN (The Sofia Echo's emphasis) Romania and Bulgaria.

The percentage of the population aged between 20 and 24 who are not in education, training or work in the UK is 17 per cent. In Bulgaria, by contrast, the figure is 15 per cent, and in Romania it is 16 per cent.

The latest figures were apparently compiled by the EU statistical arm, Eurostat, and show how the numbers of youngsters with poor education developed in the 27 member countries between 2003 and 2008. They show the proportion of the population in each country aged between 20 and 24 who are not in education or training and who have only the bare minimum of secondary school education.

"
The effect of Britain’s growing proportion of Neets means that in 2008 there were more badly educated young people in Britain than in 22 other EU countries. In 2003, only 10 countries had young people who were doing better,"
writes The Daily Mail.

The four countries with more ill-educated young people in 2008 (than in the UK) quoted in The Daily Mail article, were Portugal (at 35 per cent), Spain (at 32 per cent), Italy (20 per cent) and Malta (39 per cent).

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Hmm..........can't say I'm surprised

I don't think the youngsters here are idle.They just have no opportunities, especially in the villages.If they had the opportunity that UK kids have they would all be doing something.They don't get paid to watch telly here! I'm always being asked if I have any work for them.

Your absolutely right ABC in the uk and other countries the younger generation don't want to work or worse still they feel they don't have to I guess its living in a nanny state, I do think though thats its not all their fault but their parents have a lot to answer to for this.

At least with the UK in it's present financial state parents don't have to pay for a "
gap year!!"

From Novinite

BULGARIAN YOUNGSTERS BETTER EDUCATED THAN BRITISH, SPANISH PEERS

Bulgaria' youngsters are better educated and have a higher employment rate then their peers from Spain, Italy and the UK.

This is made clear by statistics compiled by Eurostat. The figures show the proportion of the population in each country aged between 20 and 24 who are not in education or training and who have only the bare minimum of secondary school education.

"
Even the likes of Romania and Bulgaria have now overtaken Britain in terms of their proportion of young men and women with decent education and job chances,"
the Daily Mail says on January 4. Only four EU countries are doing worse than Britain.

Bulgaria is placed 20th together with Greece with 14.8% of the young population neither employed, studying or in training.

The ranking is topped by Poland with only 5%, followed by Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Malta is at the bottom, preceded by Italy, Spain and Portugal. The data follows the development of the 27 EU states between 2003 and 2008.