The NEET concept in comparative youth research: the Nordic countries and South Africa

What is it about?

The concept of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) is much used in international statistics. However, who are the NEET young people? And is the group comparable across countries? This article compares two widely different contexts in terms of NEET rates, youth opportunities and youth welfare: the Nordic countries and South Africa. It also discusses how the concept has been received and used in these different contexts. While the concept has been problematised in different ways in Nordic youth research, it has been more readily accepted by South African researchers. What can this tell us about the usefulness of the concept in comparative research?

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