BRITONS are three times less likely to start their own business than people in the Third World, according to a new report.

Brazil, Argentina and India all have more entrepreneurial activity per head than the UK, according to the report by Ernst & Young and the London Business School.

Sixteen per cent of adults in Brazil open their own business, with eight per cent in Argentina and six per cent in India, compared to just five per cent in the UK.

Despite this, British people are twice as optimistic about entrepreneurial activities in the future than they were in 1999.

Even with the current waning interest in dot-coms, nearly 40 per cent of UK business people surveyed said the country's environment is right for starting a new business.

The Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) is the result of extensive research including interviews with 46,000 people and 900 businesses and economic experts worldwide.

Mark Hatton, Ernst & Young partner responsible for the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards programme in the North-East, said: "While it is worrying to see the UK so far behind in the global rankings, there are signs that this may already be about to improve."

He called on the Government to give more tax incentives to investors.