I'm Italian and it's mandatory to learn how to drive stick in order to get a license. This could explain why we think driving at 16 is absurd: it would probably be difficult for a 16 years old to learn stick.
Am British, and feel the same, although here kids can drive on private land at a younger age (usually farm workers), so sometimes you see kids immediately take their tests (theory and practical) at 17 and pass.
I learnt stick at around 14. 37 now and still drive and prefer stick. Also just did 3 laps around the nurburgring with a stick for the 1st time a few weeks ago. A life changing experience
Why would it be difficult? Children can play complex video games and handle the controllers perfectly - why should a manual stick be too complex for teenagers?