America has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world. With close to one million teen girls becoming pregnant, the rate is nearly four times higher than France and nearly five times as high as Germany.

What's going on?

To answer that question, Sex, Etc. recently spoke to two foreign exchange students who told us how they learned about sex in their countries and how it differs from what American teens learn.

Antoine, 20, who lives in the suburbs of Paris and was an exchange student in a New Jersey school this year, says that French teens avoid pregnancy by using contraception frequently and consistently. (No research suggests that American teens have sex more frequently than their European counterparts.)

In France, contraception is easy to get and teens are not afraid to ask for it. Many high schools distribute condoms to students, he says.

France and many other European countries allow teens to get birth control confidentially, without permission from their parents or another adult. The same is true in the United States, only most American teens are unaware of their rights or feel too embarrassed to ask for birth control.

French teens, on the other hand, tend to feel more comfortable about planning for sex and protecting themselves, Antoine says. (Experts say that one of the major reasons why so many American teens have unprotected sex is because they feel embarrassed or afraid to plan for sex. So, they just "let it happen.")

"Many young people use condoms very often," he explains. "Also, many girls take the Pill. Many teens in France are careful."

Camilla, 19, who is from Sweden, seconds that notion.

Condoms are not distributed in Swedish schools, but teens can get them for free at clinics for young people.

"It's free to go to the gynecologist, and you can get pills for free too," says Camilla, who came to the U.S. in June to work as an au pair for a year.

"Everything is done to prevent teenagers from becoming pregnant and then getting abortions," she adds.

Swedish teens, who have one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the entire world, receive a comprehensive sex education program that begins in the seventh grade.

"They told us everything about how women's and men's bodies work and about infections like herpes and HIV," remembers Camilla.

"They also told us about condoms and all the other methods of birth control," she says. "I thought that the classes were very good. They informed us about everything we needed to know in a fun way. My teacher was really good."

These two teens also agree that people in European and Scandinavian countries tend to be more open about sex and view sexuality as a more natural part of a person's development.

"I talk to my mom about pregnancy pills and stuff like that all the time," says Camilla.

"I don't think it is as hard for us to talk to our parents about sex as it is for young people in America," Antoine says.