Band 8+: The graph below shows the percentage of unemployed people aged between 15 and 24 in five European countries in 2005, compared with the overall percentage of unemployment in those countries. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart compares the proportion of unemployed individuals aged 15–24 with the overall unemployment rates in five European countries in 2005.

Overall, it is clear that the youth unemployment rate was significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate across all five countries. Poland had the highest youth unemployment rate, while Denmark recorded the lowest for both age-specific and overall unemployment.

In detail, Poland’s youth unemployment rate was the highest among the five countries, standing at around 37%, which was significantly higher than its overall unemployment rate of about 18%. Italy followed, with 24% of young people unemployed, while its overall unemployment rate was approximately 8%. Hungary had a youth unemployment rate of around 20%, three times higher than its overall figure of about 7%.

Germany and Denmark exhibited the lowest levels of unemployment. Germany’s youth unemployment rate stood at 15%, compared to its overall rate of 10%. Denmark had the smallest gap, with a youth unemployment rate of 10% and an overall rate of about 5%.