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The world is home to more young people than ever before, but how are these 1.8 billion 15- to 29-year-olds really doing? A new report out today, the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, shows that far too few are able to access the opportunities necessary for their success and the prosperity of their families, communities, and countries.
Created by the International Youth Foundation in partnership with Hilton, the Index offers a picture of how young people are doing in terms of gender equality, economic opportunity, education, health, safety and security, citizen participation, and information and communication technology. With youth wellbeing tied directly to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Index addresses seven of the 17 SDGs.
The countries included in the Index are home to almost 70 percent of those 1.8 billion youth, but only 11 percent of young people in these countries are experiencing high levels of wellbeing.
To offer a comprehensive guide to how young people are doing and where investment is needed, the Index features objective data from sources such as the World Bank and Gallup alongside youth perspectives gathered through the 2016 Global Millennial Viewpoints Survey. Giving voice to young people themselves enriches the findings overall, and in more than one case points to a need for reality to catch up with young people and their optimism.
Young people in Index countries say they’re ready for gender equality. Looking at Index data regionally, even in the Middle East and North Africa, which has the lowest rate of young people agreeing that women should have all the same rights as men, the percentage is still a majority: 76 percent.
However, we know that important gaps between men and women persist. In addition to youth perceptions of gender equality, the Index gender equality domain indicators are restricted civil liberties for women, female youth marriage rate, and women’s fear of walking alone. The data for this last point shows that more than 40 percent of women in Index countries do not feel safe walking alone at night. This figure is highest in South Africa and Brazil, at 70 and 71 percent, respectively.
Young people are also optimistic about their economic futures; however, too many are disconnected from vital economic opportunities. Three-quarters say they will be able to get the kind of job they want, and almost 60 percent of youth in Index countries feel their standard of living will be better than that of their parents.
At the same time, Index countries had the lowest overall scores in the economic opportunity domain. Nearly 20 percent of youth in Index countries are not working but want to be. Rates of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) have decreased in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, but as of 2014 they are still 19 and 25 percent, respectively. Youth is a critical period for starting a career, and any delay then has a negative impact on future earnings and that person’s economic options and contribution.
One of the most interesting—and disheartening—Index findings points to a global need to focus on young people’s mental health. In addition to roughly half of young people surveyed saying their lives are too stressful, slightly more young people—53 percent—said the way they feel emotionally gets in the way of their school, job, or life.
Young people’s physical safety and security also require attention. Although largely preventable, road-related accidents are the leading cause of death for 15- to 29-year-olds; youth are particularly vulnerable to this danger in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Great work remains to be done across the board to ensure all young people can be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. Expanded youth opportunities offer a critical means of advancing the global goals, and the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index is a call to action and guide for deepened investment in young people—and the optimism that buoys them.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, visit youthindex.org. Use #2017YouthIndex to join a Twitter chat, moderated by Diplomatic Courier, on Index themes and findings at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 14, 2017.
Young people in Index countries say they’re ready for gender equality. Looking at Index data regionally, even in the Middle East and North Africa, which has the lowest rate of young people agreeing that women should have all the same rights as men, the percentage is still a majority: 76 percent.
However, we know that important gaps between men and women persist. In addition to youth perceptions of gender equality, the Index gender equality domain indicators are restricted civil liberties for women, female youth marriage rate, and women’s fear of walking alone. The data for this last point shows that more than 40 percent of women in Index countries do not feel safe walking alone at night. This figure is highest in South Africa and Brazil, at 70 and 71 percent, respectively.
Young people are also optimistic about their economic futures; however, too many are disconnected from vital economic opportunities. Three-quarters say they will be able to get the kind of job they want, and almost 60 percent of youth in Index countries feel their standard of living will be better than that of their parents.
At the same time, Index countries had the lowest overall scores in the economic opportunity domain. Nearly 20 percent of youth in Index countries are not working but want to be. Rates of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) have decreased in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, but as of 2014 they are still 19 and 25 percent, respectively. Youth is a critical period for starting a career, and any delay then has a negative impact on future earnings and that person’s economic options and contribution.
One of the most interesting—and disheartening—Index findings points to a global need to focus on young people’s mental health. In addition to roughly half of young people surveyed saying their lives are too stressful, slightly more young people—53 percent—said the way they feel emotionally gets in the way of their school, job, or life.
Young people’s physical safety and security also require attention. Although largely preventable, road-related accidents are the leading cause of death for 15- to 29-year-olds; youth are particularly vulnerable to this danger in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Great work remains to be done across the board to ensure all young people can be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. Expanded youth opportunities offer a critical means of advancing the global goals, and the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index is a call to action and guide for deepened investment in young people—and the optimism that buoys them.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, visit youthindex.org. Use #2017YouthIndex to join a Twitter chat, moderated by Diplomatic Courier, on Index themes and findings at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 14, 2017.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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We Can’t Afford to Squander Youth Optimism
Lynnet Mutheu Mutua (23 years) working in Komarock Heights, Nairobi, Kenya.|||
September 14, 2017
The world is home to more young people than ever before, but how are these 1.8 billion 15- to 29-year-olds really doing? A new report out today, the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, shows that far too few are able to access the opportunities necessary for their success and the prosperity of their families, communities, and countries.
Created by the International Youth Foundation in partnership with Hilton, the Index offers a picture of how young people are doing in terms of gender equality, economic opportunity, education, health, safety and security, citizen participation, and information and communication technology. With youth wellbeing tied directly to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Index addresses seven of the 17 SDGs.
The countries included in the Index are home to almost 70 percent of those 1.8 billion youth, but only 11 percent of young people in these countries are experiencing high levels of wellbeing.
To offer a comprehensive guide to how young people are doing and where investment is needed, the Index features objective data from sources such as the World Bank and Gallup alongside youth perspectives gathered through the 2016 Global Millennial Viewpoints Survey. Giving voice to young people themselves enriches the findings overall, and in more than one case points to a need for reality to catch up with young people and their optimism.
Young people in Index countries say they’re ready for gender equality. Looking at Index data regionally, even in the Middle East and North Africa, which has the lowest rate of young people agreeing that women should have all the same rights as men, the percentage is still a majority: 76 percent.
However, we know that important gaps between men and women persist. In addition to youth perceptions of gender equality, the Index gender equality domain indicators are restricted civil liberties for women, female youth marriage rate, and women’s fear of walking alone. The data for this last point shows that more than 40 percent of women in Index countries do not feel safe walking alone at night. This figure is highest in South Africa and Brazil, at 70 and 71 percent, respectively.
Young people are also optimistic about their economic futures; however, too many are disconnected from vital economic opportunities. Three-quarters say they will be able to get the kind of job they want, and almost 60 percent of youth in Index countries feel their standard of living will be better than that of their parents.
At the same time, Index countries had the lowest overall scores in the economic opportunity domain. Nearly 20 percent of youth in Index countries are not working but want to be. Rates of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) have decreased in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, but as of 2014 they are still 19 and 25 percent, respectively. Youth is a critical period for starting a career, and any delay then has a negative impact on future earnings and that person’s economic options and contribution.
One of the most interesting—and disheartening—Index findings points to a global need to focus on young people’s mental health. In addition to roughly half of young people surveyed saying their lives are too stressful, slightly more young people—53 percent—said the way they feel emotionally gets in the way of their school, job, or life.
Young people’s physical safety and security also require attention. Although largely preventable, road-related accidents are the leading cause of death for 15- to 29-year-olds; youth are particularly vulnerable to this danger in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Great work remains to be done across the board to ensure all young people can be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. Expanded youth opportunities offer a critical means of advancing the global goals, and the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index is a call to action and guide for deepened investment in young people—and the optimism that buoys them.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, visit youthindex.org. Use #2017YouthIndex to join a Twitter chat, moderated by Diplomatic Courier, on Index themes and findings at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 14, 2017.
Young people in Index countries say they’re ready for gender equality. Looking at Index data regionally, even in the Middle East and North Africa, which has the lowest rate of young people agreeing that women should have all the same rights as men, the percentage is still a majority: 76 percent.
However, we know that important gaps between men and women persist. In addition to youth perceptions of gender equality, the Index gender equality domain indicators are restricted civil liberties for women, female youth marriage rate, and women’s fear of walking alone. The data for this last point shows that more than 40 percent of women in Index countries do not feel safe walking alone at night. This figure is highest in South Africa and Brazil, at 70 and 71 percent, respectively.
Young people are also optimistic about their economic futures; however, too many are disconnected from vital economic opportunities. Three-quarters say they will be able to get the kind of job they want, and almost 60 percent of youth in Index countries feel their standard of living will be better than that of their parents.
At the same time, Index countries had the lowest overall scores in the economic opportunity domain. Nearly 20 percent of youth in Index countries are not working but want to be. Rates of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) have decreased in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, but as of 2014 they are still 19 and 25 percent, respectively. Youth is a critical period for starting a career, and any delay then has a negative impact on future earnings and that person’s economic options and contribution.
One of the most interesting—and disheartening—Index findings points to a global need to focus on young people’s mental health. In addition to roughly half of young people surveyed saying their lives are too stressful, slightly more young people—53 percent—said the way they feel emotionally gets in the way of their school, job, or life.
Young people’s physical safety and security also require attention. Although largely preventable, road-related accidents are the leading cause of death for 15- to 29-year-olds; youth are particularly vulnerable to this danger in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Great work remains to be done across the board to ensure all young people can be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. Expanded youth opportunities offer a critical means of advancing the global goals, and the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index is a call to action and guide for deepened investment in young people—and the optimism that buoys them.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the 2017 Global Youth Wellbeing Index, visit youthindex.org. Use #2017YouthIndex to join a Twitter chat, moderated by Diplomatic Courier, on Index themes and findings at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 14, 2017.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
