The latest Eurobarometer poll has shown that the member states of the European Union continue to lag behind America regarding the number of residents eager to setup their own business.
The entrepreneurial survey found that less than half of all EU citizens would prefer to be self-employed while 61 per cent of Americans want to go it alone in business, according to Finfacts.com.
In addition Europeans are less likely to have paid any thought to starting their own business, with 49 per cent of residents from the original 15 member states having never contemplated becoming self-employed.
Whereas in the US, only 27 per cent had never paid any thought to working for themselves.
However the survey found that there was more enthusiasm for entrepreneurship among the youth in the EU with over half of the EU's young people (15-24 years old) who are not self-employed likely to follow the entrepreneurial route compared to 30 per cent of all EU citizens.
The obstacles outlined in the survey which would most likely prevent Europeans going into business were fear of bankruptcy and uncertainty of income.
According to the European Commission's mid-term review on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy, published this week, over the past two years SMEs have been the main driver of employment growth in the EU.
