Seoul, Dec 13 (IANS): South Korea has the third-highest ratio of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a report revealed on Monday.

The average monthly number of NEET people aged 15-29 in the country is estimated at 1.56 million in the January-October period, according to the report from the Korea Employment Information Service.

Of the total, 778,000 were preparing for employment or seeking jobs, with another 507,000 unwilling to seek employment, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The tally accounted for 20.9 per cent of people in that age group in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

It was the third-highest percentage among member countries of the Paris-based club of rich nations after Italy's 23.5 per cent and Mexico's 22.1 per cent.

South Korea's percentage was more than double Sweden's 7.6 per cent and nearly two times Finland's 10.8 per cent.

Comparable figures were 11.7 per cent for Denmark, 12.4 per cent for Britain, 13.4 per cent for the US, 14.2 per cent for Australia, 15 per cent for France and 18.5 per cent for Spain.