Youths want no migration controls

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Four out of five youngsters believe people should be able to live in any country they choose, a BBC global survey of 15 to 17-year-olds suggests.

Two-thirds also say that they would emigrate to secure a better future, and one in seven said they would risk their life to reach another country.

The results come from a survey of 3,000 teenagers in 10 cities as part of the BBC's Generation Next series.

The young people were quizzed on a range of contemporary political issues.

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The key areas of questioning were immigration, climate change, terrorism and war, crime, religion, education, global population and honesty.

In Baghdad, 98% of respondents said the war on terror was not workingThe 10 key cities involved in the poll were New York, Nairobi, Cairo, Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Baghdad, Delhi, Jakarta, Moscow and London - though due to their sensitive nature, not all questions could be asked in all areas.

On the question of immigration, 79% thought that people should be able to live in whichever country they chose and 64% said that they would emigrate to secure a better future.

The proportion of respondents that would emigrate to secure a better future was highest in Nairobi (81%) and Delhi (81%).

An overwhelming majority said the so-called US war on terror was not making the world a safer place <a href="/1/hi/world/6196464.stm" class="">Survey in graphs</a> <a href="/1/hi/world/6203054.stm" class="">Poll offers contradictions</a>

In Baghdad, 50% of the sample said they would not emigrate - the biggest negative response of all 10 cities.

The results show the desire of young people to be highly mobile, with very little difference between developed and developing countries.

Integration issue

But the sample was split about whether those who wanted to move to a new country should keep apart to maintain their own beliefs and culture - with 38% saying they should and 49% calling for immigrants to integrate and adopt the culture of their new country.

In New York, 61% thought immigrants should integrate, with only 11% saying they should keep apart. In Delhi, the figures were just 11% for integration and 81% for keeping apart.

When asked which was the most important issue globally right now, 36% of the respondents listed terrorism.

The issue caused most concern in New Delhi (66%), New York (63%) and Baghdad (59%).

And an overwhelming majority, 71%, said that the so-called US war on terror was not making the world a safer place. Just 14% of respondents disagreed.

Ninety-eight percent of Baghdadi respondents said the war on terror was not making the world a safer place.

This negative attitude was echoed in Rio de Janeiro where 92% felt the same.

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