2005 Annual Youth Report for Bulgaria (results in brief)

One in five schoolchildren has used drugs, one in two knows where to buy some, and two children in every class have used hard drugs, according to a representative survey conducted by Mediana. It is part of the 2005 Annual Youth Report, which was approved by the government on Thursday and was presented to the press by the leaders of the Youth and Sports Agency, Chairperson Vessela Lecheva and her deputy Mihail Balabanov.

The survey covered schoolchildren aged from 15 to 18 and young people aged from 18 to 35.

The annual report reflects the current situation of young people in terms of demographic characteristics, health and education, employment, leisure time, civil initiatives and civic activism.

The survey showed two trends. One is that a larger proportion of young people are better off and their technological and linguistic training is of a higher standard. On the flipside, between 25 and 30 per cent of young people have inadequate education and poor linguistic and technological skills, meaning that nearly 20 per cent of the working age population cannot contribute properly to the economy, Balabanov said.

This group of young people requires urgent measures for its inclusion in the labour market. They are mostly people from the minorities living in small towns and villages.

Balabanov said another cause for concern was the widespread view that if one uses drugs occasionally, one cannot get addicted.

The main conclusion is that a ten-year strategy for youth policy and a law on youth should be drafted.

The report was prepared jointly with representatives of all state institutions concerned, NGOs, the sociological community and academia. The report suggests policies for solving the existing problems for each area analysed.

Source: BTA