  We study the FIR and UV-visible properties of nearby star forming galaxies.
This comparison is performed using the local luminosity functions at UV and FIR
wavelengths and on individual starburst galaxies for which photometric data
from UV to NIR and FIR are available. The comparison of the FIR and UV local
luminosity functions argues for a moderate extinction in nearby disk galaxies.
For a sample of 22 starburst galaxies, it is found that the UV(912-3650AA), the
visible(3600-12500 AA) and the NIR(12500-22000 AA) wavelength range contribute
30%, 50% and 20% respectively to the total emerging stellar emission. The mean
ratio of the dust to bolometric luminosity of these galaxies is 0.37+/-0.22
similar to the ratio found for normal spiral galaxies. The mean extinction at
2000AA is found to be ~1.2mag although with a large dispersion. The conversion
factor of the stellar emission into dust emission is found to correlate with
the luminosity of the galaxies, brighter galaxies having a higher conversion
factor. We conclude that a very large conversion of the stellar light into dust
emission can no longer be assumed as a general property of starburst galaxies
at least in the local Universe. We compare the UV properties of our local
starburst galaxies to those of high redshift galaxies. The larger extinction
found in the distant galaxies is consistent with the trend we find for the
nearby starburst galaxies namely the brighter the galaxies the lower the escape
fraction of stellar light.
