The new report “Society at a Glance 2011 - OECD Social Indicators” has (at least) some interesting findings.
- Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain
- Not only that but, having looked into the figures, the 16-35 voting rate is also lowest in Britain (while Poland has the lowest rate amongst the 55+). Presumably the fact that the voting age is 18 doesn’t have much of an effect. Only around 46.3% of Britain’s ‘youth’ participate in elections, compared to 67.2% in America, 72.2% in Ireland, and even more - up to 98.8% - in others (some of which have compulsory voting). I am really shocked. Is this an argument against our current voting system? Or are there deeper problems (too) with our politics and/or young people? And how different would the election results be if this age disparity was removed?
- (Something for another blogger to write about?) The US is notable for its “Percentage point difference in voting rates between high and low educated people”:
