Brasília,5/3/2004 - A pioneer survey of 3,501 youths between the ages of 15 and 24 in 198 Brazilian cities found that the thing they are most interested in is education. Out of those interviewed, 38% said they that going to school and university was the most important thing. Exactly 1% said the most important thing was to be a homeowner.

The desire for education was strongest between the ages of 15 and 17, that is, 45% of those interviewed said they wanted more education. When youths between the ages of 21 and 24 were interviewed, interest in education fell to 32%. The highest level of interest in education was in the North region - 44%.

The survey is called "Profile of Brazilian Youth" and is the first of its kind to survey youth nationwide. One of the problems of Brazilian education, says Enio Pinto of the Sebrae (an industrial apprentice service) which ran the survey, is that there are 8.7 million youths in high school, but only a quarter of them, around 2.7 million, will go to university.

One of the objectives of the survey is to direct public policy and funding to Brazilian youth in an efficient way.

Translator: Allen Bennett