Archive:Being young in Europe today - introduction
This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on the Eurostat flagship publication 'Being young in Europe today' (which can be consulted in order to get a layouted pdf version).
About this publication
In late 2013, Eurostat introduced a new type of publication, the ‘flagship publication’, with the aim of providing statistical analyses related to important social, economic or environmental phenomena. The goal for these publications was to address specific themes highly relevant for the general public and the European Union policy-making.
Being young in Europe today is part of this new breed of publications and presents some of Eurostat’s most interesting data on the state of today’s young population in the EU. Being young in Europe today does not claim to be an exhaustive publication, but it provides an overview of the wealth of information that is available on Eurostat’s website and within its online databases. It provides a balanced set of indicators, with a broad cross-section of information.
What can you find in this publication?
Being young in Europe today is divided into 7 chapters covering population, family and society, health, education, access and participation to the labour market, living conditions and the digital world.
Each chapter contains data and background information relating to a very wide range of European statistics. More information can be found on Eurostat’s website, which contains subject-specific publications and online databases.
Infographic ‘Young Europeans’
To complement this publication on children and young people, Eurostat has recently developed an infographic that provides information to young internet users in a fun way. The infographic covers four main areas: family, work, free time & studies and the internet. The infographic can be accessed through the homepage of Eurostat's website.
About initiatives from the European Union
The European Union (EU) has set up several initiatives to either provide information about all policies that can help strengthen the capacities of children and their families or promote dialogue between the young population and policy-makers.
The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC)
In February 2013, the European Commission (EC) adopted the Recommendation 2013/112/EU of 20 February 2013 ‘Investing in Children — breaking the cycle of disadvantage’ as part of the Social Investment Package, which proposed a long-term social strategy to support children and to help mitigate the effects of the current economic crisis. The Recommendation provides guidance for EU Member States on how to tackle child poverty and social exclusion through measures such as family support and benefits, quality childcare and early-childhood education. Social investment in individual capacities during the early years is particularly beneficial for children from a disadvantaged background and can provide large social returns. They are also a crucial factor in breaking cycles of intergenerational transmission of poverty.
The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) is an evidence-based online platform that provides information about policies that can help children and their families face the existing challenges. It also helps EU Member States implement the Recommendation. EPIC is used to collect and disseminate innovative practices that were found to have a positive impact on children and families in EU Member States.
The EU Youth Strategy
In 2009, the European Council adopted Resolution 2009/C 311/01 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010–18) on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010–18), which set the stage for the EU Youth Strategy. The Resolution was the outcome of the European Commission’s efforts to promote dialogue between the EU young population and policy-makers, with the aim of increasing active citizenship, foster social integration, and ensure inclusion of the young in EU policy development.
The EU Youth Strategy for 2010–18 pursues two overall objectives:
- to provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and in the job market; and
- to encourage young people to actively participate in society.
To achieve these objectives it proposes initiatives in eight fields of action:
- Education and training;
- Employment & entrepreneurship;
- Health & well-being;
- Participation;
- Voluntary activities;
- Social inclusion;
- Youth & the world; and
- Creativity & culture
The first 3 years of the EU Youth Strategy (2010–12) were jointly assessed by the European Commission and the European Council in the EU Youth Report 2012. For the period 2013–15, three top priorities were put forward:
- Employment;
- Social inclusion (particularly those with fewer opportunities); and
- Health and wellbeing.
About Eurostat and the European statistics
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union (EU), situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the EU with statistics at a European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions. Eurostat’s mission is to be the leading provider of high-quality statistics on Europe.
Accessing European statistics
The simplest way to access Eurostat’s broad range of statistical information is through its website (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat). Eurostat provides users with free access to its databases and all of its publications in portable document format (PDF) via the internet. The website is updated daily and gives access to the latest and most comprehensive statistical information available on the EU, its Member States, EFTA countries, as well as acceding and candidate countries.
Eurostat online data codes — easy access to the freshest data
Eurostat online data codes allow easy access to the most recent data on Eurostat’s website. In this publication the online data codes are given as part of the source below each table and figure. In the PDF version of this publication, the reader is led directly to the freshest data by clicking on the hyperlinks that form part of each online data code. Readers of the paper edition can access the freshest data by typing a standardised hyper-link into a web browser — http://ec.europa. eu/eurostat/product?code=<data_code>&mode=view — where <data_code> is to be replaced by the online data code listed under the table or figure in question. Online data codes lead to either a two- or three-dimensional table in the TGM (tables, graphs, maps) interface or to an open dataset which generally contains more dimensions and longer time series using the Data Explorer interface.
Online data codes can also be fed into the ‘Search’ function on Eurostat’s website. The results from such a search present related dataset(s) and possibly publication(s) and metadata.
Note that the data on the Eurostat’s website are frequently updated and that the description above presents the situation as of April 2015.
Statistics Explained
Statistics Explained is part of Eurostat’s website. It provides easy access to statistical information concerning the EU. It can also be accessed via an icon at the right-hand end of the top menu bar on most Eurostat webpages, or directly at http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained.
Statistics Explained is an online publishing system about EU statistics which uses MediaWiki technology and resembles Wikipedia. This wiki-based system presents statistical articles which together form an encyclopaedia of European statistics, completed by a glossary of the statistical concepts and terms used. In addition, numerous links to the latest data and metadata as well as to further information are provided, making Statistics Explained a portal for regular and occasional users alike.
It is possible to search for articles using the ‘Search’ function on the top-right of the webpage, as to get a PDF version of the article, to print, to bookmark or forward content easily.
The content of this flagship publication Being young in Europe today is also available on Statistics Explained and can be found under the online publication with the same title.