NEW WAY research

Page 1 of 44 March 2012

Published by: World Alliance of YMCAs 12 Clos Belmont 1208 Geneva Switzerland Tel: +41 22 8495100 office@ymca.int www.ymca.int Contemporary Challenges Facing Young People, March 2012 Secretary General Rev. Dr. Johan Vilhelm Eltvik

Researchers Europe: Adrian Davies, England | Gareth Couperthwaite, England Asia and the Pacific: Kristina Velez, Philippines USA: Reneta Ferrari, USA Canada: Aida Thomas, Canada Middle East and Sumary: Myla Inventor, Philippines/Switzerland Africa: Reginald Crablle, Ghana Latina America and the Caribbean: Arcilon Rocha, Brazil

Page 2 of 44

Youth Challenges Summary Demographics The youth represents one third of the population with 2.3 billion people between ages 12 – 34. AsiaPacific has the most youth with 650 million young people living in the region. This is followed by the Latin America and Caribbean region and the Middle East with 106 million and 100 million young people respectively.

Youth Economics Unemployment is one of the main challenges young people face in all regions. They are also more likely to be unemployed than adults. Regions such as the Middle East and Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing the highest amount of youth in their history, and have a good opportunity to benefit from its large, young workforce. However, the Middle East has the highest youth unemployment rate at 25% followed by Africa and Asia-Pacific at 20%.

Furthermore, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America-Caribbean report gender inequality in the workforce. In Asia-Pacific, women are more likely to lose their jobs than men while unemployment among young women is 17% compared to 11% among young men in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Young people are most affected by poverty, particularly in regions such as Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. In the latter, 39% of the youth are living in poverty. In addition, 20% of young people were at risk of poverty in Europe in 2007 while 18.4% of young people ages 18-24 were living below the poverty line in the United States.

Health Substance use is declining amongst young people in the United States and Canada. For example, in the United States, alcohol use among 17 year olds decreased from 51% in 1991 to 42% in 2009. In Canada, young smokers have decreased to 20% in 2010.

Half of new HIV incidences occur in young people, and reproductive health issues, pregnancy complications, abortion increases morbidity and mortality rates among young women in developing areas. Furthermore, there is a lack of sufficient access to health services for young people in some regions.

Education Although education has generally improved in most regions compared to their previous generations, access to education remains a challenge in regions such as Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. In Africa, 45 million children were not enrolled in school while 30 million were not enrolled in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Page 3 of 44

Civic Participation and Engagement In general, engagement of youth in the political process is low or is declining. For example, in Europe, the turnout of young people during the 2009 European Parliament elections was 29% which was 4 percentage points less than 2004. In the United States, the percentage of young people who voted in the 2010 midterm elections was 24% compared to the average of 30% during the 1970’s and 1980’s. However, young people are not disengaged and are using social media more often to voice their opinions.

Page 4 of 44

Africa 1. Africa’s Youth Demographic One-third of the world’s population, approximately 2.3 billion people, is between the ages of 12 and 34 years.

Today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has ever known. In general, young people are healthier and more educated today than the generations before them. Nonetheless, young people, particularly young women, face significant challenges that prevent them from meeting their full potential.

Africa has the fastest growing and most youthful population in the world. Over 20 percent of Africa’s population is between the ages of 15-24 with over 40 percent of Africa’s population under 15 years according to the international labour office, youth make up as much as 36 percent of the total working age population and three in five of Africa’s unemployment are youth. ”The high total fertility rate is Africa’s biggest demographic challenge,” says Carl Haub, senior demographer at PRB. The combination of population growth associated with high fertility rates and the slow pace of job creation in Africa presents challenges to its youth.

2. Youth Economics In the absence of appropriate age-disaggregated data, national and regional level data with Millennium Development Goals indicators can be used to explore the extent of poverty among young people (Curtain, 2008).

2.1. Incidence of Extreme Poverty Available data show that the incidence of extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (measured by the proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 a day) decreased from 53% to 51% between 1990 and 2005. The corresponding figures for North Africa during the same period were 5% and 3%. Despite this decline, recent data show that Sub- Saharan Africa remains the only major world region in which half of the population lives in extreme poverty. Young people who make up 2/3 of Africa’s population are the most sufferers.

2.2. Poverty-Gap Ratio Another indicator of poverty is the poverty-gap ratio which measures the shortfall in incomes of people living below the poverty line and hence the incidence and gap of poverty (Curtain, 2003; UN, 2010). Using this indicator, Curtain (2003) showed that 15 of the 19 poorest countries in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa, and concluded that the 51 million youth in these countries accounted for 37% of all young people in the region.

3. Employment In 2000, the average rate of unemployment was 10.9% in sub Saharan Africa and 10.4% in North Africa (ILO 2009). These rates are high compared with other developing regions. Sub Saharan Africa Page 5 of 44

and North Africa have the second and third highest unemployment rates after the Middle East.

Regional trends show that Africa unemployment has not improved much over the last 10 years – in fact, unlike most regions the rate has remained stable around 7% (figure 1.0) Youth employment remains a priority for African governments as a large number of youth populations are not employed or meaningfully employed. Growing population and global downturn in employment equals a potentially problematic combination for nations to deal with. In Africa, youth already accounted for 60% of the unemployed workforce in 2007. However, increasingly experience from other regions like the Caribbean and now Africa have shown that a good or high level of educational attainment does not guarantee increased employment opportunities. Young people today have to do more than just have an education in order to succeed in life. In the past two decades, Africa has increasingly become a breeding ground for human capital for Europe and North America. Need for investment in youth as a source of human capital. In 2009, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that the youth unemployment rate in Africa was approximately 20 per cent.

Youth Population by Economic Activity Status in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1997 and 2007

4. A Challenge for Uganda Uganda, with the world’s highest youth unemployment, also has the youngest population in the world, according to a new World Bank report. Unemployed young people among the ages 15 to 24 has been recorded at 83 per cent in Uganda, (Africa Development Indicators (ADI) 2008/09) According to the report, Uganda’s population also has the highest dependency ratio in Africa — registered at 1:1. (Dependency ratio is the ratio of people younger than 15 or older than 64 to the working age population). The report says youth unemployment is 68 per cent in Zimbabwe and 56 per cent in Burkina Faso, the other two countries that face challenges similar to Uganda. The report, launched at the International Monetary Fund offices in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a ceremony that was broadcast live through videoconferences in selected African countries, reinforces the point that comprehensive and integrated approaches tend to do better than fragmented ones. The World Bank warns that unless Uganda, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso scale up their efforts to create jobs, the youth will find their way into crime and armed conflict.

“Given the challenges faced by the youth in labour markets, success in pursuing employment for young people will require long-term concerted actions spanning a wide range of policies and Page 6 of 44

programmes,” said the report. “Due to the increase in youth population as well as the very high fertility rate that characterizes the region, African countries will likely face an increase in job creation pressure for the youth over the coming decades,” it adds. The indicators in the report show that parenthood in Africa begins at an early age. In Uganda, 47 per cent of females in the age range of 1524 years had already given birth at least once by 2009 and 15 per cent of the males at this age bracket were already fathers.

5. Youth Health 5.1. HIV and AIDS Half of all new HIV infections occur in young people ages 25 and under, and 14 million adolescent girls give birth every year. Over 70,000 teenage girls are married each day.

Complications from pregnancy, childbirth, and unsafe abortions are the major causes of morbidity and mortality for young women between the ages of 15 – 19 years in the developing world. Girls under 16 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s, while mothers under 20 years are twice as likely to die as women in their 20s.

People between 15 – 24 years have the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Furthermore, approximately 20% of women fewer than 24 years of age have been infected with the specific strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), an STI that cause almost all cervical cancers.

In most Sub-Saharan African countries, less than one-third of sexually experienced adolescent girls report using a condom during their most recent sexual experience. In Ghana, 1 in 5 adolescents who have heard of AIDS believe that sharing food can transmit the AIDS virus. – mostly because they were embarrassed, did not want other people to know, did not know where to go, or thought it cost too much.

5.2. Female Health In West Africa, 55% of women give birth before the age of 20 years. Married adolescents’ HIV rate is 6.5 percent, compared to a rate of 2.5 percent for their unmarried peers. In SubSaharan Africa, a woman has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. In Niger, Guinea, Central African Republic, and Mozambique, 25% or more of girls ages 15 – 19 had their first experience with vaginal intercourse before age 15. An estimated 4.3% of women ages 15–24 in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV, compared with 1.5% of men in that agegroup.

5.3. Other health issues The resurgence of old diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis has resulted in drastic deterioration of health of the African youth. More than 75% of the global AIDS deaths, 22% of tuberculosis deaths and 85% of all malaria deaths occur in sub Saharan Africa (UNECA 2007)

5.4. Child Marriage

Page 7 of 44

In addition to low contraceptive use, the high prevalence of early marriage in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa partly explains the high adolescent fertility rates in the sub region.

Although most African countries have declared 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage, a 2006 UNICEF report stated that 42% of young girls in the region were married before turning 18 years (UNICEF, 2006). While the practice has decreased, it is still commonplace, especially in rural areas. Overall, early marriage is generally more prevalent in Central and West Africa where it affects at least 40% of girls under 19 years. It is relatively less common in East Africa and Southern Africa. Notably, however, even though fewer girls in Southern Africa marry in their teens, cohabitation is relatively common in this region (Mokomane, 2004).

5.5. Major Causes of Death for African Youth According to UNECA (2009), the main cause of death among African youth is HIV and AIDS, accounting for over 53%; this is followed by maternal conditions at 16.7%, tuberculosis at 4.5%, sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV and AIDS at 1.7%, and malaria at 1.5%.

Unnatural causes of death – particularly road traffic accidents and violence – present another major threat to young Africans, especially males.

5.6. Mental Health Widespread poverty, plus alcohol and drug abuse, as well as the social and political upheavals experienced in most parts of Africa, create circumstances conducive for poor mental health among young people, who are directly affected. In the three decades since the identification of HIV and AIDS, very many young people have grown up affected by their parents’ chronic illness and death related to the epidemic. The children themselves often face discrimination and stigma because of the parents’ condition. To this end, the development of many children was negatively affected by socio-economic difficulties and changes brought about by the epidemic. Although data are lacking on the prevalence of mental health problems among youth in Africa, it is almost impossible to expect optimum mental health for children exposed to this kind of trauma. Depression and other psychosocial disorders are other possibilities that can arise due to lack of opportunities to attend school or find a decent job.

6. Education During the 1990s, African countries experienced notable progress in universalizing primary education. Despite this progress, the region as a whole is far from attaining Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).1 In 2009, out of the over 45 million children of primary school age in the region, almost 42 percent, were not enrolled in school. Only a handful of small countries in the region had reached a net enrolment rate (NER) greater than 90 percent. The NER of some countries was under 70 percent, indicating that these countries needed to expand their primary school system capacity in order to enrol all children. In addition, delayed enrolment, dropping out, and grade repetition are widespread. In 2009, 20–40 percent of children in first grade were at least 2 years above the official ages for that grade. In half the countries, less than 67 percent of children who started the first grade were able to continue beyond the fifth grade. In about a dozen countries, more than one-quarter of all primary school students repeated a grade. As a consequence of low participation, a child in sub-Saharan Africa could expect to receive, on average, 7 years of education in 2009—6–9 years less than in Western Europe and the Americas. The challenge to expand children’s participation in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa is exacerbated by low Page 8 of 44

levels of academic achievement. In seven southern African countries participating in a regional study of achievement from 2007 to 2009, between 1 percent and 37 percent of grade 6 students reached the “desirable” level in reading, while 22–65 percent fell short of the mark.

7. Youth Involvement and Rural Development 7.1. Youth Civic Participation Table 1 illustrates the extent of youth civic engagement in Africa, through the presence of national youth policies, youth ministries or departments, and national youth councils. The table shows that most African countries have government ministries or departments that have an explicit mandate to address youth issues. National youth policies and councils are also common vehicles for youth participation in many African countries (UNECA, 2009).

Table 1: Presence of youth ministry or department, national youth policy and national youth council in selected African Countries as at 2008.

Table 2: Political participation by age in selected sub-Saharan countries, 2005-2006

Page 9 of 44

Youth civic participation is not new to Africa. However, there is little evidence of ongoing activities within youth bodies. When African youth civic participation is assessed in terms of three indicators: civic participation, electoral participation and political voice, it is very clear that African youth have been only marginally involved.

8. References 

Lary H et al. Exploring the Association Between HIV and Violence: Young People’s Experiences with Infidelity, Violence and Forced Sex in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. International Family Planning Perspectives 2004, 30: 200-6.



Clark S, Bruce J, Dude A. Protecting Young Women from HIV/AIDS: The Case Against Child and Adolescent Marriage. International Family Planning Perspectives 2006,32(2): 79-88.



Singh, Shusheela et al. “Gender differences in the timing of first intercourse: data from 14 countries,” International Family Planning Perspectives. 2000, 26 (1) (2000): 21-28 & 43.



Guttmacher Institute, 2006. Protecting the Next Generation Facts in Brief: Adolescents in Ghana



Guttmacher Institute, “Facts in Brief: Adolescents in Uganda”, Protecting the Next Generation: Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health resources, Washington, DC (2006).



Population Reference Bureau. The World's Youth 2006 Data Sheet._Washington, DC: PRB; 2006.



Joint United Nations Programme on HIV AIDS (UNAIDS). 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, Geneva, Switzerland: UNAIDS, 2006.



UNFPA. 2004. The State of World Population 2004: The Cairo Consensus at Ten: Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty New York: UNFPA: 76.

Page 10 of 44



UNFPA, State of World Population 2003: Investing in Adolescents’ Health and Rights, New York, 2003.



http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2003/pdf/english/swp2003_eng.pdf (accessed September 25, 2007)



UNFPA, Early Marriage and Violence Limit Girls’ Opportunities and Violate Their Rights, October 2003.



http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2003/presskit/press_releases/swp2003_press (accessed October 9, 2007)



“The World’s Youth 2000.”

Population Reference http://www.prb.org/pdf/WorldsYouth_Eng.pdf. (accessed October 10, 2007)



Executive Summary of Lancet Sexual and Reproductive Health Series. 2006



http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/srh_lancetseries.pdf.

October 9, 2007)



UNDP Fast Facts on Povery, 2005. (Accessed on October



http://www.undp.bg/uploads/File/mdg/millennium_project2005/un_millennium_project200 5_poverty_fast_facts_en.pdf



Bearinger, L. et al., “Global perspectives on the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents: patterns, prevention, and potential”, The Lancet, Adolescent Health Series (2007), 1221.



UNAIDS, 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic: A UNAIDS 10th Anniversary Special Edition, Geneva: UNAIDS, 2006



Population Reference Bureau. “Meeting Young women’s Reproductive and Sexual Health Needs.” 2000



Bryceson, Deborah Fahy, Annabel Bradbury and Trevor Bradbury. 2008. “Roads to Poverty Reduction? Exploring Rural Roads’ Impact on Mobility in Africa and Asia.” Development Policy Review 26 (4): 459-482.

release03.pdf

Bureau.

(accessed

on

Page 11 of 44

Asia and Pacific 1. Youth demographic trends in Asia and Pacific

1.1. Adolescent and Youth Populations Adolescence (ages 10-19 years as defined by World Health Organization) and the period of youth (ages 15-24 as defined by the United Nations) are critical life stages.

During these ages, many biological, social and economic changes occur that have important implications for the future of these young people. There are also significant sub-regional and country variations in the projected growth of the adolescent and youth population.

Overall, however, the population of adolescents and youth will register an increase for the next 10-15 years, before starting to decline. The next 10-15 years, therefore, are important in that the increasing cohorts of adolescents and young adults are also facing a rapidly changing economic and social environment, characterized by both opportunities and challenges. Opportunities exist because of, first, the high rate of economic growth and labour demand that characterizes an increasing number of countries in the ESCAP region and, second, easy access to information. By contrast, challenges arise because of changing family structure and values that are taking place at a pace with which the cohorts of different generations, parents and children, find it difficult to adjust and adapt.

2. Youth Economics Youth in Asian countries continue to face significant challenges in securing decent and productive jobs and are 4.7 times more likely to be unemployed than adults.

Steven Kapsos, an economist with the International Labor Organization said that the ration is the highest among the regions of the world.

The young people suffer from what is often called as ‘first out, last in’ phenomenon in the job market and when re-hiring starts, usually those who are well experienced are being hired.

Economic downturns have a long-term impact on youth, thus, making it a priority for government and firms to promote youth employment generation. Comprising the 50% of the total region’s population, generating sufficient employment opportunities is seen as crucial.

For South Asia, gender-based inequalities remain as a huge concern, with more women at risk of losing their jobs than men.

Despite the strong recovery in economic output in South-East Asia and the Pacific, the region’s unemployment rate is estimated to have decreased only by one per cent, to 5.1 per cent in 2010.

Page 12 of 44

3. Youth Literacy Rate Asia has 666 million illiterate people, 75% of the world total.

Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) East Asia & Pacific

99% 2009

Europe & Central Asia 99% 2009 Middle East

90% 2009

South Asia

79% 2009

As a component of basic education and a foundation for lifelong learning, literacy is the key to enhancing human capabilities and achieving many other rights.

According to UNESCO, more than 796 million of the world’s adults, or one in five adults of which twothirds are women, do not know how to read or write, while 67.4 million children are out of school.

In almost all countries, youth literacy rates (i.e. for the population aged 15-24 years) were higher than adult literacy rates in 2008. Thus, adult literacy rates will continue to improve in the coming years due to progress among younger generations.

In 2008, 131 million youth worldwide lacked basic reading and writing skills. Among this group, 61 percent were female. Similar to the adult population, youth unable to read and write were also concentrated in the Southern Asia (66 million youth) and sub-Saharan Africa (47 million) – albeit much more so. 86 percent of all youths unable to read and write worldwide lived in these two regions.

Gender disparities were also less severe among the youth population compared to adults. Eastern Asia and South-Eastern Asia have reached gender parity, while Southern Asia (GPI 0.86) is also catching up.

Trend data show that the youth literacy rate has increased by about 6 percentage points at the global level over the past 20 years – Southern Asia showed the biggest improvement in youth literacy rates between 1990 and 2008, with increases of 19 percent, while youth literacy increased by 5 percent in Eastern Asia and Western Asia. In Southeast Asia, progress was slower with an increase of 2 percent.

Dropout rates and the number of out of school youth are continuously rising. Also, the parity between the accessibility of young men and women to education grow higher due to their culture, traditions, ethnicity, and economic status. The survival rate of those who belonged to primary level going to secondary and tertiary levels becomes less each year. However, in general, the literacy rates in most Asian countries, with all the government policies being implemented, are comparatively higher than the previous years.

Page 13 of 44

4. Youth Health 4.1. Age at Marriage and Age at first Sexual Intercourse In Asia and Pacific, there is a trend towards an increase in the age at marriage in many countries in the region. This trend has resulted in an extended period of adolescence before marriage in these countries and areas. This has been commonly attributed to a variety of environmental, genetic, and socio-economic factors, including improved nutrition and exposure to modern social life. Moreover, due to sexual inequality prevalent in the region, adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to the risks associated with unprotected sexual relationships, as well as the adverse consequences of adolescent pregnancy.

4.2. HIV in Asia:  

2008: estimated 4.7 million people with HIV in Asia 350,000 newly infected in that year

4.3. IDU in Asia:   

More than half the world’s opiate users are in Asia Asia is home to approximately 14 to 16 million regular drug users at least 6.5 million injecting drug users 4 million are in three countries alone: China, India and Indonesia

4.4. Young people and illicit drugs in Asia 

Drug use among youth has increased exponentially in South‐East Asia First epidemic: heroin, post‐American War in Viet Nam Second epidemic: amphetamines, post‐1997



Age of drug use initiation declining in Asia: –often as low as 12 years



Both ends of Socio‐Economic spectrum: Increasing underclasses: transitions to market economies, globalisation →structural unemployment, growth of slums, increased involvement in informal economies increasing wealth: disposable income, global youth culture

5. Youth Civic Engagement There is a wide variety of Civic Engagement programs that are operating in the region. However, these are not equally distributed throughout the region. Some other countries may have strong CE programs, but still many other Southeast, Middle East Asia and Pacific areas. The enabling environments for youth civic engagement also vary greatly, depending on government characteristics and policies as well as socio-economic and cultural factors. However, for some Southeast and East Asian countries, strong sense of Civic Engagement can be observed especially for those who were Page 14 of 44

intensely supported by the governments. Participation rates also in these areas are high and they are monitored to produce significant outcomes affecting their respective communities.

6. 6. References:  UNESCO. Education Data. (2010). http://data.worldbank.org/topic/education  

UNESCAP. Asia and the Pacific into the 21st Century: Prospects for Social Development-II: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS. (2011). http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/publications/theme1998/part2_2.asp



HIV, Drugs and Mental Health in Asia – Setting the Scene. (2008). (http://ni.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/343708/2_Crofts_Setting_the_Scene. pdf



International Literacy Day. Has Asia made a progress? An article. (2011). http://www.asianscientist.com/academia/international-literacy-day-september-8-2011unesco-room-to-read/

 UNAIDS/WHO/UNODC/GFATM/ANPUD, 2010: A strategy to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in Asia and the Pacific 2010‐2011  Young People’s Civic Engagement in East Asia and Pacific. A Regional Study. (2008). http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF8&p=youth+civic+engagement+rate+in+asia&fr=y fpt701s&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=youth+civic+engagement+rate+in+asia&d=471 302683689 2391&mkt=enUS&setlang=enUS&w=e0acd39c,f7031c81&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=X.HuNXYHwcU O5BMvG4OoYQ—

Page 15 of 44

Europe 1. Demographics Europe covers about one-fifth of the Eurasia landmass - just 7% of the world’s total landmass. It is the second smallest continent in the World, after Oceania. The Eastern boundary of Europe has often been debated throughout history, but it is commonly considered to be the Ural Mountains in Russia. Some European countries are also considered to be part of Asia, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Cyprus.

Europe is made up 50 countries, 27 of these countries make up the EU, with 5 candidate countries, there are also 17 other countries. In the YMCA movement we recognise Kosovo however it is not officially a country in Europe but recognised by the World Alliance and Balkan YMCAs. Most statistics and facts are based on the EU as facts and figures for the whole of Europe are difficult to find or do not exist.

Member states of the EU (orange) Candidate countries (purple) Other European countries (light purple) Europe is believed to have around 230 Languages, with 23 Official Languages of the EU which are Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish. A long term goal of the EU is to have every EU citizen to speak at least two languages additional to their own mother tongue, and for long term education of foreign languages to start at the age of 3 years old. German is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU (18% of citizens); English and Italian have the second largest with a 13% share and French with 12%.

Page 16 of 44

In 2008 it was estimated that around 500 million people lived in the EU with a further 230 million living in other European countries, however some sources quote that there is currently over 840 million people in Europe. In 2007, the European Union counted around 96 million young people aged between 15 and 29 years. These young people and their elders are facing two demographic challenges: the ageing and the impending decline of the European population. In fact, according to projections, by 2050 the population aged 15 and under will account for a quarter of all persons of working age (15–64) and for half of the population aged over 64. Overall, young people represented just under a fifth of the EU population in 2007.

At national level, the most ‘youthful’ nations in the EU include Ireland, Cyprus, Slovakia and Poland, which counted the highest proportion of young people in the total population (more than 24%). By contrast, in Denmark, Germany and Italy young people account for less than 18% of the population.

International migration has become an important driver of European population growth. However, the available data to monitor this phenomenon are still difficult to analyse since no criterion (e.g. citizenship or residence) perfectly captures international mobility. Among the EU Member States for which data are available, Spain, Austria and Germany recorded the highest shares of foreigners among the young population aged 15–29 (representing respectively 15%, 14% and 12%). According to UNHCR in 2008 65,960 refugees were resettling worldwide, of these 4,378 refugees departed to one of the EU countries.

In 2006 about 3.5 million persons settled in a new country of residence in the EU. Spain, Germany and UK received more than half of all immigrants, while the vast majority of immigrants in the EU settled in the larger Member States but the scale of immigration was greater for smaller countries.

There were relatively more non-EU than EU citizens among immigrants: of some 3 million nonnational immigrants to the EU, of which 1.8 Million were non EU citizens.

Polish (more than 290,000) and Romanians (more than 230,000) were being the most numerous immigrants, Moroccans ranked first among non-EU citizens (140,000) as well as being the third highest foreign proportion entering EU countries, ahead of British (100,000) and German citizens (90,000).

Half of all immigrants were younger than 29 years old. On average, immigrants who were not EU citizens were younger than those who were EU citizens (Average 27.7 Years old) EU immigrants (Average 29 years old). There were more men than women among immigrants (114:100) and women were younger than the men (roughly on average two years younger) Denmark had the youngest total immigration, with half of the immigrants younger than 25 and 80% younger than 35. Followed by The Netherlands and Sweden 70% were younger than 35. In the Czech Republic and Slovenia more than half of the immigrants were older than 30.

The largest numbers of immigrants to the EU in 2006 were recorded in Spain, Germany and United Kingdom. Combined, these three countries had 2 million immigrants (including returning nationals), Spain (840,000) Germany (660,000) & the United Kingdom (530,000). Only Spain also had high immigration relative to its population size, with Germany and the UK closer to the EU average based on immigration per 1000 inhabitants. The highest rate of immigration was recorded in Luxembourg, followed by Ireland, Cyprus and Spain.

Each National group seems to favour one state over another. More than half of all migrating Polish citizens settle in Germany, while a large number go to the United Kingdom. Most Romanian’s prefer Spain and Italy. Nearly half of British citizen migrants go to Spain, Germany, Italy and French citizens don’t usually favour one particular country of destination, settling more often in neighbouring countries or in other large countries in the EU. Page 17 of 44

Reports show that high volumes of none EU residents migrate to the EU. In 2006 out of 100,000 Ukrainians, three quarters migrated to the Czech Republic and Italy. Chinese citizens most often migrate to Spain and to the United Kingdom. Albanians have traditionally migrated to neighbouring countries Greece and Italy. US citizens had the United Kingdom and Germany as their favourite destinations, while Turkish citizens usually migrate to Germany and Austria.

Population growth in the EU will slow down considerably compared to key competitors and start to Decline after 2025. By 2050, there will be 48 million fewer 15-64 year old people and 58 million more above 65. A shrinking labour force will potentially reduce overall employment and act as a break on growth. EU population will account for 6.4% of the world’s population in 2020 and 5.2% in 2050 compared to 7.5% in 2005. By 2020 there will be an estimates 851,516,310 million people living in Europe.

2. Youth economics Youth unemployment rates are generally much higher than unemployment rates for all ages. High youth unemployment rates do reflect the difficulties faced by young people in finding jobs. However, this does not necessarily mean that the group of unemployed persons aged between 15 and 24 is large because many young people are studying full-time and are therefore neither working nor looking for a job (so they are not part of the labour force which is used as the denominator for calculating the unemployment rate). For this reason, youth unemployment ratios use a slightly different concept: the unemployment ratio calculates the share of unemployed for the whole population. Youth unemployment ratios in the EU are much lower than youth unemployment rates; they have however also risen since 2008 due to the effects of the recent crisis on the labour market.

Page 18 of 44

The youth unemployment rate in the EU-27 was around twice as high as the rate for the total population throughout the last decade. The EU-27 youth unemployment rate was systematically higher than in the euro area between 2000 and early 2008; since this date, these two rates were almost identical.

Unemployment rates by gender, EU, seasonally adjusted, January 2000 - December 2011 Page 19 of 44

The youth unemployment rate in the EU-27 was more than double the overall unemployment rate in 2010. At 20.9 %, more than one out of every five young persons in the labour force was not employed, but looking and available for a job. In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate was marginally lower at 20.7 %. The unemployment rate among young persons was higher than the rate among those aged between 25 and 74 in all of the Member States. In Spain (41.6 %), Lithuania (35.1 %), and Latvia (34.5 %) youth unemployment rates were particularly high. The Netherlands (8.7 %), Austria (8.7 %), and Germany (9.9 %) were the only Member States with a youth unemployment rate below 10 % In 2007 it was recorded that 20% of young Europeans aged 18–24 were at risk of poverty , i.e. living in households who had at their disposal less than 60 % of the median income of the country they live in. Moreover, the average income of young people aged 16–24 was much lower than that of their elders aged 25–49, as young people still in education either have not started working or are at the beginning of their career. In 2007, less than 10 % of young European households (the oldest member of which is aged under 30) were unable to afford a meal with meat or fish every second day and to buy a computer, and one in six were unable to afford a car. Finally, one third of them could not afford one week’s holiday away from home per year.

3. Youth Health Even though the health of Europe’s young people is considered to be in general rather satisfactory, concerns remain regarding nutrition, physical activity, alcohol abuse, as well as sexual and mental health. In this context, it is essential to promote a healthy lifestyle, to adopt preventive measures and to take gender issues into consideration. Several aspects related to living conditions pose a risk to young people’s health and well-being.

The extent of social inclusion and level of education of young people is closely related to their health and well-being. Hence, it is important that young people are kept well informed of the advantages of a healthy lifestyle and that they are encouraged to become more responsible and autonomous with regard to their own health.

Young people can expect to live longer than ever before, with life expectancy at birth ranging in the EU from 71 years in Latvia to 81 years in Spain, France and Sweden. However, young Europeans are also more likely than their older counterparts to die as a result of transport accidents, suicide, drugs and AIDS. Young men aged 20–24 tended to be more affected by transport accidents and intentional self-harm than young women. In 2006, nearly 30% of new HIV cases were diagnosed among young people aged between 15 and 29, almost two thirds of which (60%) concerned those aged between 25 and 29.

Smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs are detrimental to health. In most countries, the proportion of daily smokers increases until the age of 45 and young men are usually more likely to smoke than women. According to a survey, Europeans had their first episode of drunkenness at the age of 13 or 14; and in most European countries more than 80% of young people aged 15 or 16 had consumed alcohol at least once in the past 12 months. Moreover, in more than half of the countries considered, more than 40% (but usually less than 50 %) of young people aged between 15 and 16 years declared that they had been drunk at least once in the past 12 months.

In 2004, most young people agreed that getting hold of drugs was not difficult at parties, in pubs and nightclubs as well as in their neighbourhood and at school. Young people also considered that the main reason to try drugs was curiosity, followed by peer pressure and thrill-seeking. Less than 20% of Page 20 of 44

the 15 to 34-year-olds have taken cannabis, which was the most popular drug in all countries for which data is available.

4. Education In most European countries, compulsory schooling ends between the ages of 15 and 17. It is quite common for youth to remain in education thereafter. Although participation rates in education tend to decline in all countries after the end of compulsory education, they remain above 80% in most European countries one year after the theoretical age at which compulsory schooling ends, especially for women.

At EU level, the number of young men and women in upper secondary education is fairly similar, but girls generally outnumbered boys in general programmes, whereas the opposite is true in vocational programmes. This gender gap is also reflected in higher education: women were usually more numerous than men in the first stage of higher education and especially in certain fields of education (education, humanities and arts). The reverse was usually true in the second stage of higher education.

The ability to communicate in more than one language is a desirable skill for all young people, regardless of the educational programme orientation. In 2006, less than 10% of pupils in uppersecondary education were not learning a foreign language. Nevertheless, pupils in vocational programmes tended to learn fewer foreign languages than their counterparts in general programmes Stronger competition for employment requires people to continually update their skills over their entire life, lifelong learning is thus seen as a key factor in securing employment rather than a job.

Participation rates in non-formal education and training were slightly higher for young people under 30 than for their older counterparts. However it is noticeable that higher educated young adults usually participate more in non-formal education than their peers with a lower educational attainment level.

5. Civic Participation and Engagement/Youth Leadership Due to demographic developments, the percentage of young people as part of the overall population is expected to shrink over the next decades. Young people will need to make their voice heard.

Intergenerational dialogue will become more and more important in this respect. In consultations at European level on where young people see their main policy needs, increased participation of young people in society and policy-making has continuously ranked among the most important topics throughout the past decade.

The turnout of young people (18 – 24 year olds) for the European Parliament (EP) 2009 elections was 29%; this is 14 percentage points below the European average and 4 percentage points less than in 2004. Young people are, however, not disengaged. 50% of young people declared that they had not received sufficient information about the EP elections. In addition, participation patterns of young people tend to change from long-term affiliation to a political party or an organisation, to social networking and ad hoc engagement. Facebook, which has 23 million users in the UK, was used to encourage young people to vote in the last General Election.

In the UK the Electoral Commission said more than 3.5million people may not be registered. Its research suggested 56% of 17-25 year olds were not on the electoral roll. Separately, the Hansard Society said its research suggested only 54% of people were "certain" to vote. It is said participation among young, working class voters was likely to be especially low - with less than one in four saying Page 21 of 44

they would definitely vote - signalling their "mistrust" of politicians. This is echoed throughout Europe as in 2004 67% of young people aged 18-24 didn’t vote for the European Elections.

6. European Trends Life expectancy continues to rise, especially from gains at older ages. Since there are large discrepancies among and within countries, there is scope for raising average life-spans for the less advantaged groups.

The most recent large wave of immigrants, that has swollen the cohorts of foreigners in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain, has abated in 2008.

Fertility is slightly on the rise. Lowest-low fertility, i.e. below 1.3 children per woman, has ended in every Member State and the average is approaching 1.6 as of 2008.

The EU population ages at varying speed. Populations that are currently the oldest, such as Germany's and Italy's, will age rapidly for the next twenty years, then stabilise. Some populations that are currently younger, mainly in the East of the EU, will undergo ageing at increasing speed and by 2060 will have the oldest populations in the EU. Fertility indicators confirm the on-going postponement of births to later ages in life. An adjustment for this ‘tempo’ effect would raise the 2008 fertility rate in the EU to just over 1.7. This is still well below the replacement rate of 2.1.

Not only people are living longer lives; they may be living longer healthy lives. There is evidence that the process of ageing, during which people become progressively disabled until they die, is not becoming slower; rather, it is progressively delayed. However, some data indicate that healthy life expectancy fell from 2007 to 2009, and there is a need for more information on this subject.

Immigrants tend to be less-well educated and employed in jobs below their qualifications 7. References:               

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Youth_in_Europe http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/documents/Tab/report.pdf http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/youth/ef0007_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages-of-europe/eu-languages_en.htm http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/official/keydoc/actlang/act_lang_en.pdf http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/71025.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb55/eb55_en.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-policies/participation_en.htm http://www.blatantworld.com/europe.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8546536.stm http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15597715 http://www.youthvotes.eu/?p=85 Eurostat 98/2008 Population and Social conditions- A.Herm

Page 22 of 44

Canada 1. Youth Demographics There are 6.9 million young people aged 15-29 years old in Canada today, about 20% of our total population. Typical of most industrialized nations, Canada has an aging population, and youth have been declining as a percentage of total population for more than 20 years.

The total population of 15-29 year old Canadians is projected to grow by only 0.4% in total over the next ten years, compared to nearly 12% projected growth for the population as a whole.

Population by Age and 2009 Sex Total Population 33,940,720 15 to 19 years 2,254,119 20 to 24 years 2,323,191 25 to 29 years 2,359,747 Total 6,937,057 Youth as a % of total population 20.4%

2019 37,983,226 2,047,666 2,273,950 2,640,551 6,962,167 18.3%

2. The World’s Youth In Canada Youth in Canada today reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity that has come to define Canada. More than 20% of Canada’s population – 8 million people – are immigrants. Youth immigrants to Canada arriving in the past ten years are overwhelming of South and Southeast Asian origin, with China, India and Pakistan being leading sources of new immigrants. New immigrants move almost exclusively to Canada’s largest cities; particularly Toronto (receiving over 40% of all immigrants), Vancouver, and to a lesser but significant extent Montreal, Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.

More than 30,000 people aged 15-24 years immigrate to Canada every year, largely from Asia, but also in significant numbers from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Immigrant youth report fairly high levels of satisfaction with their experience in Canada, learning English and/or French quite quickly and for the most part successfully integrating into Canadian education and employment. As such, Canada’s big cities, and especially big city universities, are home to vibrant global youth cultures.

3. Education Canadian youth experience some of the highest educational outcome levels in the world. The current (2008/2009) secondary school graduation rate is 74.9%, slightly down from the 2002/2003

Page 23 of 44

graduation rate of 76.4%. By the age of 25, 84.5% of all Canadians have attained at least a high school diploma, and 48.7% of the population has achieved some form of post-secondary certification.

An important exception to this pertains to the education of First Nations students whereby only 40% complete high school if they are on reserve (aged 20-24), compared to 56% for Aboriginal students in provincial schools and 84.5 % for all Canadians.

There is a 19 percentage point spread between the % of Aboriginals & non-Aboriginals without a high school diploma (2006 ) - 34% vs. 15%. The gap widens for First Nations on reserve (50%) to a 35 percentage point gap. 4%: First Nations on reserve with a university education (versus 8.6% of Aboriginals and 23% of non-Aboriginals). Of note, the university attainment gap widened between 2001 and 2006 despite advances. 14%: First Nations on reserve with a college or trade certification (versus 33% of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups) 3.1. Rising Tuition and Rising Student Debt Tuition fees at Canadian post-secondary institutions have risen faster than inflation for most of the past twenty years in Canada. Average undergraduate university tuition fees now exceed $5,000 per year ($5,138 in 2010/2011). Tuition fees for programs seen as leading Total debt from government backed student loans now exceeds $18 billion, and is increasing by $1.2 million per day. When last measured in 2000, graduating students were leaving university with an average student loan debt of $19,500. Over 300,000 post-secondary diplomas and degrees are awarded annually in Canada.

3.2. Youth Employment Still Struggling Canadian youth aged 15-24 years have a 65% participation rate in the labour force, about the same as the adult population as a whole. Youth unemployment is traditionally higher than the overall unemployment rate, and is currently remaining at 2009 recession levels in most regions of Canada. The overall youth unemployment rate is currently 14.6%, ranging from 11% to 21.6% in different regions of the country. The “jobless recovery” is being felt acutely by young adults in Canada’s labour market.

The mega-trends impacting Canadian youth as they transition to adulthood include delayed achievement of many of the traditional milestones of adulthood. Canadian youth are attending school longer, leaving their parent’s home later (or returning in early adulthood), marrying later and having children later. It is now common for Canadian women to wait until their mid to late 30s to have their first child. This “delayed adulthood,” as it is referred to by Statistics Canada, is seen as a response to uncertain career prospects, high student debt load and high housing prices. Just 3.4% of Canadian households are led by a person under 25 years old.

Income inequality is a growing problem in Canada, affecting all workers. As seen in the chart below, workers in the bottom 20% of earnings have seen their real wages decline by more than 20% in the past 20 years, while real wages for the top 20% have grown by 22.6%.

Page 24 of 44

4. Health Canada continues to make positive inroads in many public health challenges facing contemporary youth in Canada. The number of teen (16-19 years) cigarette smokers has fallen steadily over the past ten years, to 20% in 2010.

According to the Canadian Community Health Survey (2002), 60% of all Canadians with alcohol and drug dependency problems are between 15-24 years of age. Substance abuse among youth continues to fall slowly overall in the mainstream, but remains a significant problem for marginalized and impoverished youth outside the mainstream. Use of methamphetamines by street youth reaches as high as 25% in some Canadian cities. Cocaine use rates of more than 30% among street youth are reported in several major Canadian cities. It is well established that youth with fewer social resources and developmental assets are far more likely to develop substance abuse problems, and it remains a significant challenge for governments and social service organizations like the YMCA to provide social support resources to those youth most in need.

Teenage pregnancy rates in Canada are among the lowest in the developed world, with fewer than 25 pregnancies and 14 live births per 1,000 women under 20 in 2006. However, as with substance abuse, differences in socio-economic status dramatically affect teenage pregnancy statistics. In Canada’s aboriginal communities (total population of 1.1 million, with 120,000 under 20 years old) the birth rate for women under 20 is 95 births per 1,000 population. The majority of these young women become single mothers, often without adequate supports to raise themselves out of poverty.

The leading cause of death among Canadians aged 15-24 is by accident (42% of all deaths), with suicide being the second leading cause (21% of all deaths). Among aboriginal youth, suicide rates are 8 times higher for females and 5 times higher for males than among the populations as a whole.

Obesity and the chronic diseases associated with this condition is perhaps the single most pressing public health concern in Canada today. While overweight and obesity rates in Canada are somewhat lower than experienced in the United States, obesity poses a significant public risk, and if unchecked today’s Canadian children may be the first ever generation with a shorter life expectancy than their parents. A 2007 study by Statistics Canada that observed actual weights in Canadians (as opposed to self-reported statistics) found that obesity in Canadian youth aged 12-17 has tripled in the past 25 years and that 29% of all Canadian children aged 12-17 are overweight or obese. More than 1.3 million Canadians have been diagnosed with diabetes, the majority of cases being lifestyle associated Type 2 diabetes.

Page 25 of 44

5. Engagement A majority of Canadian youth are actively engaged in their communities through some sort of volunteer work or through donating to local charities. The 2007 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (Statistics Canada and Imagine Canada) found that 58% of Canadians aged 15-24 years reported volunteering in their community and 71% reported making some type of charitable donation.

Internationally, a growing number of Canadian youth are pursuing overseas internships, service learning and volunteer opportunities abroad. An examination of the Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) web site shows more than 40 organizations listed where students can apply for international placements. Many Canadian students see international service opportunities as a chance to gain valuable career experience.

Engagement in the democratic political process among Canadian youth has been declining for a number of years. A study of voting patterns in the 2000 federal election found that fewer than 30% of young Canadians voted in that election. Recent elections have seen some improvement in youth voter turnout, but a general lack of interest in the political process remains a serious concern.

6. Demographic Challenges With population growth through immigration accelerating in Canada’s largest city regions, and populations stagnating or declining outside of these growth poles, Canada’s youth are becoming increasingly concentrated in our largest cities. Canadian born and immigrant youth can expect to see increased competition for opportunity, high living costs and uncertain prospects in the big cities for the foreseeable future. Yet youth will continue to concentrate in the six or seven largest Canadian cities as aging populations, decreased service levels and a dearth of multicultural infrastructure in rural and small town Canada combine to make other destinations unpalatable. Many of Canada’s regions are projected to experience shortages of health care workers, teachers, and other professionals, while young adult Canadians in big cities will continue to struggle to start their careers and reach the milestones of adulthood.

7. Capacity and Potential in Canadian Youth Young Canadians aged 15-30 are among the best educated youth in the world. The majority come from Canada’s large and relatively stable middle class. Canada’s youth are also perhaps the world’s most ethnically and culturally diverse national youth cohort, with significant numbers of young Canadians being from, or immediately descended from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Facing slowing growth in the Canadian economy and uncertain career opportunities, Canadian youth are uniquely positioned to be highly effective participants in global youth mobilization.

Page 26 of 44

United States of America 1. Youth Demographics Over 64 million adolescents ages 10 to 24 live in the United States, representing roughly 21% of Americans. In the past ten years, the adolescent population has grown by more than 7%, with the largest gains seen among young adults ages 20 to 24 (based on available data).

Young people in the United States reflect the increasing diversity of American society, as racial and ethnic minority groups continue to expand. Latinos and African Americans account for 20% and 16% of adolescents aged 10 to 19, compared to 18% and 15% of young adults ages 20 to 24. Conversely, while White youth represent 61% of young adults, they account for 58% of adolescents. This growth of minority communities is expected to continue in the coming decades, with estimates projecting that white youth will account for 48% of adolescents by 2040.

Other trends seen among adolescent populations in the United States include a rising number of young people living in immigrant families (19% in 1990 to 24% in 2008), increasing school enrollment, and declining high school dropout rates. Further, 10.2 million young people lived in poverty in 2006, accounting for 23% of all Americans living in poverty.

2. Youth Economics With a national poverty rate of 13.2% in the year 2008, 18.4% of young adults 18-24 were below the poverty line—30% larger than the poverty rate of those ages 25-34 (13.2%), and almost double the 10% poverty rate of middle aged adults 35-64. Indeed, all other adult age group in the country had poverty rates below the 18.4% figure reported for 18 to 24 year olds; for example, 8.4% of the elderly fell below the poverty line (19% of children under age 19 are under the poverty line). Part of that economic vulnerability is a function of the transitions to adulthood that 1824 year olds are undergoing during this period of the life course. Many in the 18-24 age group had not completed the school-to-work transition (nearly half, 48%, were still attending school). Similarly, only 59% Page 27 of 44

of 18-24 year olds were in the labor force, compared to 72% of 25-34 year olds (the latter figure similar the 75% figure of 35-54 year olds who were in the labor force).

Personal annual incomes from all sources increased with age, from $10,778 for the younger age groups (18-24), to $30,674 for 25-29 year olds, and to $ 37,366 for 30-34 year olds.

According to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, at least twenty-nine states have made cuts to public health programs, twenty-four states have cut programs for the elderly and disabled, twenty-nine states have cut aid to K–12 (kindergarten to 12th grade) education, and thirtynine states have cut assistance to public colleges and universities. These changes in policy will have a longer-term impact on young people and future generations.

2.1. Economic Gap In 2005, the bottom 20 percent of household earners had an average income of $10,655 while households in the top 20 percent made nearly 160,000 – a disparity of 1,500 percent, the highest gap ever recorded. According to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, nearly one in three Americans who grew up middle-class has slipped down the income ladder as an adult. Downward mobility is most common among middle-class people who are divorced or separated from their spouses, did not attend college, scored poorly on standardized tests, or used hard drugs, the report says. “A middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status over the course of a lifetime,” the report says.

3. Youth Health 3.1. Substance Use Since the 1980s, adolescent substance use has declined, due in part to decreases in tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. In 2009, past month alcohol use among 12th graders (17 years old) was 42%, compared to 51% in 1991. Nevertheless, alcohol use increases from adolescence to young adulthood, and has a higher prevalence among males compared to females. Similarly, American Indian/Alaskan Native and White youth report the highest rates of alcohol consumption, while Black and Asian youth report the lowest.

Cigarette use has also declined since the early 1990s, with 20% of high schoolers reporting past month cigarette smoking in 2009 compared to 28% in 1991. Smoking rates increase between adolescence and young adulthood. Illicit drug use among adolescents has remained fairly constant since 1991. In 2008, more than one in twelve 12th grade students reported the use of illicit drugs other than marijuana in the past month. Highest rates of past month drug use were seen among American Indian/Alaskan Native and White adolescents.

With respect to substance abuse, rates of dependence did not change from 2000 to 2007 for 12 to 17 year olds (8%), but increased from 15% to 21% for 18 to 25 year olds. Among young adults, males report higher rates of substance abuse or dependence than females, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives reported the highest rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

Page 28 of 44

3.2. Sexual and Reproductive Health While the average age of first sex in the United States is 17, the median age of marriage is in the mid-20s, resulting in adolescents facing an increased risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). By age 15, roughly 13% of American teens have ever had vaginal sex. Among high school students, almost half report ever having sexual intercourse, compared to four fifths of young adults ages 18 to 24.

3.3. Teenage Pregnancy Nearly 750,000 women ages 15 to 19 become pregnant every year. In 2005, adolescent pregnancy rates were at the lowest point since 1969 (70 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19); however in recent years, rates have slightly increased (72 per 1,000 in 2006). This overall decline in teen pregnancy is attributed in part to increases in consistent contraceptive use.

Over the past 20 years, condom use at last intercourse among adolescents has increased from 46% in 1991, to 61% in 2009. Between 2006 and 2008, about 84% of female teens and 93% of male teens reported using contraceptives at last sex, compared to 71% and 82% in 1995.

Despite increasing contraceptive use, teen pregnancy rates in the United States remain among the highest of industrialized nations: more than twice that of Canada (28 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 in 2006) and Sweden (31 per 1,000). In 2005, New Mexico reported the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country, followed by Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Mississippi (see Figure 8). Racial and ethnic disparities also persist, with Black and Hispanic women experiencing the highest pregnancy rates (126 and 127 per 1,000 ages 15 to 19).

3.4. Obesity Over the last 20 years, the US has experienced a dramatic increase in obesity. In 1991, only four states reported an obesity prevalence rate between 15 and 19%, and no states reported rates at or above 20%. In 2009, every state except for Colorado reported an obesity prevalence rate at or above 20%, with 9 states exceeding 30%. Among adolescents, obesity has increased steadily. Between 1980 and 2008, obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 increased from 5% to 18%. Obesity rates vary by race and ethnicity, with Black females and Mexican American males reporting the highest rates (29% and 27%), and White males and females reporting the lowest (17% and 15%).

Obesity trends among adolescents are largely driven by unhealthy behaviors and decreases in physical activity both inside and outside of school. In 2009, 29% of youth reported drinking a sugared beverage at least once daily, and 67% of youth reported not attending physical education classes while in school.

4. Education 4.1. Investment gap Despite record spending on school construction (an average of USD 6,519 per student), students from low-income families and minority students have by far seen the least investment in their school buildings.

Page 29 of 44



The poorest communities, as measured by household income, received the lowest investment (USD 4,140 per student) while the highest investment (USD 11,500 per student) was made in the wealthiest communities.



The least affluent school districts as measured by the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-priced lunch made the lowest investment (USD 4,800 per student), while the most affluent districts made the highest investment (USD 9,361 per student).

The money spent on schools serving students from low-income families was more likely to fund basic repairs, such as new roofs or asbestos removal, while schools in more affluent districts were more likely to receive funds for educational enhancements such as science laboratories or performing arts centres.



School districts with predominantly minority student enrolment invested the least (USD 5,172 per student), while school districts with predominantly white student enrolment spent the most (USD 7,102 per student).

4.2. Achievement gap According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2011 Condition of Education report, about 68 percent of 12th-graders in high-poverty schools graduated with a diploma in 2008, compared with 91 percent of 12th-graders in low-poverty schools. A recent study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that children who both live in poverty and read below grade level by 3rd grade are three times as likely to not graduate from high school as students who have never been poor.

4.3. Attainment The level of education has risen steadily in America over the last 70 year. In the 1940 Census, 24.5 percent of people aged 25 and over had at least a high school diploma. In 2008, 85 percent of this group had at least a high school diploma, and 27.7 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher. In addition, 10.2 percent of people aged 25 and over had advanced degrees.

With the exception of professional and doctorate degrees, annual earnings increase with each successive degree. Annual earnings ranged from around $11,000 a year for less than full-time, year-round workers without a high school degree to around $100,000 for full-time, year-round workers with a professional degree.3 This demonstrates there is a strong relationship between education and earnings.

5. Youth Civic Participation and Engagement/Youth Leadership More than half (59 percent) of teenagers in the United States reported that they participated in youth volunteer work in 2009, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service (2010a). Most youth volunteers do so out of altruism and an interest in making in a difference in the lives of others, according to one survey. Only five percent of students reportedly volunteered because of a school requirement (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2005).

Page 30 of 44

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1981) is heavily involved in family life, participating in school groups, sports, and recreation activities, and having dinner with household members more frequently than any other generation.  

Generation X (born 1965-1981) ranked either #1 or #2 among four generations across 7 of 19 civic engagement categories surveyed between 2008 and 2010.

Generation X ranked #1 in the category of frequently eating dinner with household members (90.9%), participation in school groups (19.5%), and participation in sports or recreation groups (13.6%), and ranked #2 in discussing politics frequently (34.2%).



Millennials (born after 1981) continue to pioneer the digital age, talking via the Internet more frequently than any other generation.



Millennials (born 1982 or after) ranked #1 in talking via the Internet frequently (69.3%), and #3 in participation in sports or recreation groups (9.6%)

5.1. Youth Vote An estimated 24% of young people (ages 18-29) voted in the 2010 midterm elections, according to newly released Census data analyzed by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. While turnout declined slightly between 2006 and 2010, youth turnout remained similar to past midterm elections and tracks a similar decline in adult turnout.

In 2010, as in 2008, young African Americans led the way in youth voter turnout. Young African Americans voted at a rate of 27.5% compared to 24.9% of young Whites, 17.6% of young Latinos and 17.7% of young Asian Americans. Turnout among White youth declined more than that of any other race/ethnicity between 2006 and 2010.

“Youth turnout has stayed between 22% and 25% in all midterm elections since 1998, compared to an average of 30% in the 1970s and 1980s. We have to find a way to raise it,” said CIRCLE director Peter Levine.

6. References 

Corporation for National Community Service. (2011).Civic Life in America: KEY FINDINGS ON THE CIVIC HEALTH OF THE NATION FACT SHEET SEPTEMBER 2011 http://civic.serve.gov/assets/resources/CHAFactSheet.pdf



Education Week. (2011). Achievement Gap. http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievementgap/



FindYouthInfo.Org. (2011).

Civic Engagement http://www.findyouthinfo.org/topic_civicEngagement.shtml



Huffington Post. (2010). Eight Surprising facts about the shrinking middle class. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/09/8-surprising-factsabout_n_675545.html#s121657&title=Income_Inequality_Is

and

Volunteerism.

Page 31 of 44



Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2011). Morbidity and Mortality among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States. AstraZeneca Fact Sheet 2011. http://www.jhsph.edu/bin/q/l/US%20Fact%20Sheet_FINAL.pdf



National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2008. Compendium Report. DECEMBER 2010 . http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011012.pdf



Pew Charitable Trusts. (2011). Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream. http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Economic_Mobility/Pe w_PollProject_Final_SP.pdf



The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. (2011). Fact Sheet. http://www.civicyouth.org/official-youth-turnout-rate-in-2010-was-24/



The Network on Transitions to Adulthood (University of California - Irvine). Young Adults in the United States: A profile. http://www.transad.pop.upenn.edu/downloads/Young%20Adults%20in%20the%20United%2 0States%20-%20A%20Profile.pdf



U.S. Census Bureau.

Education Attainment http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-14.pdf



U.S. Census Bureau.

(2011). http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/



U.S. Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

The

in

2011

(2008).

the

US.

Statistical

Childhood

(2011).

Abstract.

Obesity.

Page 32 of 44

Latin America and the Caribbean 1. Demographics Latin America and Caribbean region is made up of 41 countries where 570 million of people live. It is rich in cultural, linguistic and biological diversity. It has over 600 spoken languages and has the largest reserves of water and woody biomass on earth, with 5 countries among the most mega biological diversity.

Indigenous people make up a significant portion of its population. We can identify more than 650 indigenous peoples, primarily in Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, some Central American countries and the Caribbean. In Bolivia the indigenous population represents 66% of the total population and 40% in Guatemala. The Afro (African descent) population is also very relevant in the region, for example, Brazil has the second largest concentration of Afro population in the world after Africa.

Of the total population, there are 106 million of young people between 15 and 24 years of age, the highest amount of young people in the history of the region, and there are 100 million of teenager between 10 and 18 years of age.

According to the report "Latin America: population projections, 1970-2050", of CEPAL, Population Division, CELADE (1998), we can see the rapid rise of the young population; this increase (never recorded before) has been called it the "demographic dividend" of the region, this name related to the potential to develop its human capital, becoming a potential for the countries of the region who have a mass of people of working age, in a very high proportion. But this population structure, in addition to opportunities, has challenges and major risks. Growing up so fast young population increases the demands at the same rate of basic services as food, health care, education and capacity to absorb labor. In a context of widespread poverty, a marked inequality and social exclusion that strikes hardest to children, women and youth in this region, the potential opportunity quickly becomes at risk.

2. Youth Economics Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. This situation affects the homogeneous and integral development of society and affects in particular way the young people.

Poor households in all countries of the region have the highest rates of fertility; obviously, they have the greatest number of children and youth. Indeed, statistics show that children, pre-teenager and teenager between 10 and 14, as those between 15 to 19 years old, are the groups most affected by poverty.

An average of 39% of Latin American and Caribbean youth are living in poverty and 15 million of adolescent are living in extreme poverty (with less than $ 1 per day).

Page 33 of 44

Regarding employment, to 2010 the young population of working age rise to 104.2 million of people, of which 50 million are working or they are looking for employment actively. Approximately 6.7 million youth are unemployed.

Of these 6.7 million youth in Latin America are unemployed, that means, people who are looking for a job but they do not find it, representing approximately 44% of the total unemployed in Latin America, reaching a rate of youth unemployment in the region of 13%, figure 2.5 times higher than the rate of adults. The unemployment rate among young women is 17%, while young men 11%.

From the young people who are working, 5.1 million are entrepreneurs, 7 million are working as independent and 16 million young people have precarious jobs; of these young people who are working 37% have health insurance, and the same percentage has pension insurance. The average income of young people is U.S. $ 424 versus U.S. $ 788 for adults by month.

The lack of decent work exposes to young people to high levels of economic uncertainty. Although they are vital for the future prosperity of the society, young people find disproportionate difficulties to find and keep decent jobs.

Graphic 1: Percent of unemployment by country and by type

Note: TD, Aspirantes: Unemployment Rate of Candidates. TD, Cesante: Unemployment rate of unemployed.

Source: OIT.

Page 34 of 44

Graphic 2: Percent of youth by situation

Although the percentage of poor youth in the region has decreased compared to the last 5 years as a result of economic growth of countries such as Brazil, it continues to maintain a high level of poverty for young people especially for rural, indigenous and African youth and in some part to young women.

3. Youth Health 3.1. Sexual and Reproductive Health In general, the average age for first sexual relations is significantly lower for males than for females in Latin America and the Caribbean. One study of young people in 11 countries found that the average age of first sexual intercourse for young men ranges from 12.7 years in Jamaica to 16.0 years in Chile; for young women, it ranges from 15.6 years in Jamaica to 17.9 years in Chile.

In the region, approximately 50% of teenagers under 17 are sexually active.

3.2. Teenager Pregnancy Latin America and the Caribbean region has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the world. An average of 38% of women in the region becomes pregnant before 20 years old.

Nearly 20% of live births in the region are from teenager mothers.

Page 35 of 44

In the Anglophone Caribbean, 82% of young men and 52% of teenager women between 10 and 18 say they have begun to have sex at age 13 years old. Many also say that their first sexual experience was forced.

Pregnancy rates are three to five times higher among poor teenager than among of teenagers who have financial resources.

Regarding maternal mortality, it is related to the gender gap, early pregnancy, abortion, and inadequate services of birth control, becoming a major reason of death among of teenager in the region.

3.3. HIV Currently there are approximately 420.000 teenager and young people from 15 to 24 years old who lives with HIV / AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean reported an HIV incidence six times higher among women from 15 to 24 years old than men of similar age.

In most countries of the region, access to health services for teenager and young people remains inadequate.

4. Youth Education Today we can identify an increase in levels of education (years of school) of young people compared with previous generations, however access to education remains a major challenge. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 30 million school-age teenager are not enrolled in school, which is equivalent to one of three teenager in secondary school age.

Also there is evidence of high levels of inequality in access to opportunities as a result of the social class, for example in addition to the socio-cultural disadvantages of low-income students when they arrive to the educational system, we have to add their access to lower quality of education relative in comparison with students with more economic resources, reinforcing the inequality of learning trajectories.

5. Gender In Latin America and the Caribbean, girls and women continue facing entrenched habits of gender stereotyping, such as the division of labor according to sex, unequal distribution of wealth and violence. On the economic aspect, women earn 30% less than men in the region.

Despite legal reforms implemented recently, prevailing domestic and sexual violence in the region.

6. Investment in youth With respect to the system of public and private investments and how these are intergenerational distributed, it becomes obvious the low level of consumption from children and young people of Latin America in associate to the low public investment in these population groups.

Page 36 of 44

In fact, countries of the region spend on elderly people (as a percentage of the job income) approximately the same proportion that countries in Europe, Japan and United States, but invest half in children and youth compared to the developed world.

7. The different manifestations of violence and youth safety The situations of violence associate to public safety constitute another of the issues of growing debate in the public agenda generally associated to the criminalization of adolescents and young people, as well as escalating repressive policies and strong-arm procedures.\ A reduction of the age of criminal responsibility in the adult justice, hardening of detention conditions and justice by own hands, are feeding a spiral of greater violence that make young people victims and offenders. This sense of insecurity is fed by the media that tend to stigmatize re-enforcing the cycles of exclusion and socialization in environments where violence is a everyday thing, starting with domestic violence.

Latin America has the highest homicide rates of the world for people comprehended between 15 - 24 years old (36,6 per 100.000), according to a study done by a research team in Brazil.

The growth in drug trafficking, organized crime with complicity of police sectors, constitute factors that sum to the above mentioned, are generating complex situations that have no quick or simple solutions.

Using data of 83 countries, we have found that the probability of a young person to become old in Latin America is 30 times higher than in Europe. In Latin America and the Caribbean, violence passes cultural, class difference, ethnical or age barriers and threatens or ends each year with the lives of thousands of children and adolescents.

Much of this violence, including physical, sexual, psychological, discrimination and abandonment violence, remains hidden and occasionally is socially approved.

According to UNICEF the Social and health consequences associate to violence represents a gross cost of approximately 145 billons dollars annually, 12% of the domestic product, to Latin American and Caribbean societies.

8. References 

UNICEF. Hechos sobre Adolescencia y Jóvenes en América Latina y el Caribe. http://www.unicef.org/lac/Fast_facts_SP(1).pdf



UNFPA. América Latina. http://lac.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/pid/2023;jsessionid=2732912EFBF3D54F97B4380 270601A76



Juventud, pobreza y desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe. Comisión económica para América Latina y el CaribeCEPAL. Naciones Unidas. http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/0/13520/L575.pdf Page 37 of 44



Información sobre empleo juvenil en América Latina. Organización internacional del Trabajo OIT.



Trabajo Decente y Juventud en América Latina. 2010. Oficina Internacional del Trabajo 2010



STRATEGIC PLAN 2014. Latin American and Caribbean Alliance of YMCAs.



La juventud en Iberoamérica Tendencias - 2ª Edición 2007. Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Organización Iberoamericana de Juventud.

Page 38 of 44

Middle East 1. Demographics Enclosed between Western Asia and Northern Africa, the Middle East is a region that represents an area of over 5 million square miles. Although the Middle East region has no definite borders, the most common definition consists of states such as Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Although there are many languages and dialects in the region, the three major languages spoken in the Middle East are Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Arab is the most widely spoken, being the official language in all of the Arab states. This is followed by Persian or Farsi. Even though Persian is mostly confined in Iran and a few bordering countries, Iran is one of the region’s largest countries and the second most populous. In addition to these three languages, English and French are common second languages. English is spoken as a second language in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Iran and Iraq, and French in Lebanon and Syria.

In 2010 the estimated population of the Middle East was over 330 million. The region is currently experiencing a “youth bulge”, 30 % of the population are young people between the ages of 15 to 29, over 100 million youth which represents the highest proportion of youth to adults in the history of the Middle East. The countries with the highest proportion of youth were Qatar and Iran with 34% of the population between ages 15 to 29, followed by Oman and Syria with 31%.

The youth proportion of the population is expected to drop in the coming decade. Currently Egypt's youth population is at an estimated 29%, in 2020 it will drop to 25%. Jordan's youth population of 30% will drop to 27% in 2020, while Iran's youth of 34% will fall to 22%.

2. Youth Economics The Middle East region holds the highest rate of youth unemployment at 25% as well as the lowest rate of participation of youth in the labour force at 35 %. Youth are 3.5 times more likely than adults to be unemployed. First time job-seekers, usually between 15 – 24, make up 50% of the unemployed youth.

Page 39 of 44

Youth in the region experiences long periods of unemployment and often spend 2 - 3 years looking for a job in countries such as Egypt and Iran. In 2008 opportunities of employment for young men were rare and almost non-existent for young women, considering four out of ten young males (39.5%) were working in comparison to two out of ten young women (14.9%).

Reasons for high employment vary from country to county in the region, but is often the result of preference for government employment among the highly educated youth, lack of quality jobs in the private sector and skills mismatch in the labour force. After finishing their education, most of the youth prefer to wait for employment opportunities in the public sector rather than accept low quality jobs in the informal private sector.

Although the gender gap in youth labour participation has declined from 32.7 percentage points in 1998 to 28.1 points in 2008, young women in the region still face disadvantages in the labour force. Currently, only 30% of the female working age population is participating in the labour market, and even fewer are employed. Only half of young women with higher education enter the work force, while only a third to a quarter with post-secondary education do so. Moreover, those who transition successfully to work are confined to low-paid jobs in the informal and formal private sector.

3. Youth Health Even though there has been progress concerning health during the past decade, youth from the Middle East region, especially countries experiencing security concerns and armed conflicts, still suffer from lack of health provision and health facilities. This is especially true for young women, youth living in rural areas and youth with disabilities.

Page 40 of 44

Young people have insufficient access to information pertaining to health, specifically regarding sexual and reproductive issues. Only half of the youth have knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases. Issues pertaining to unwanted pregnancies, HIV infections/ AIDS remain as taboo topics in some cultures. Despite the Middle East being the region least afflicted with HIV/AIDS, with a 0.3% incidence rate among adults, there is still an increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS because data tends to be underestimated.

Many young people are prone to risky behaviour pertaining to smoking, substance abuse, unhealthy nutritional consumption and reckless driving. Smoking has increased in males while rates have decreased as low as 0.3% among females in Egypt. Such patterns lead to excess morbidity and mortality in the Middle East.

Young women living in rural areas are prone to reproductive health issues. Many of them marry at an early age, and without spacing pregnancies out, give birth to a large number of children. Early pregnancy and inappropriate child-spacing can lead to poor infant health and nutrition, hence an increase in the risk of an early death. In infant mortality, however, there has been a decrease during the period between 2005 and 2009, from 30 to 26 deaths per 1 000 live births.

4. Education In the period of 1965 – 2003, governments in the Middle East spent an average of approximately 5% of their GDP on education. This enables the enrolment rates in the region to be high, with universal accessibility to primary level education and 70% for secondary. Despite an increase in education access, the quality of education remains low.

Early education is failing to provide youth under 15 years old critical skills during their formative years. Moreover, young people in secondary and tertiary education are inadequately equipped with the skills and knowledge needed in able to succeed in the labour force.

Poor quality in education is a result of educational tracking systems and a reliance on high-stakes tests for university admission. This leads to an education system that promotes memorization and rote learning rather than developing critical thinking and problem solving skills.

5. Civic Participation and Engagement/ Youth Leadership The recent developments and civil unrest in countries in the region such as Egypt, Syria, and Bahrain show that the aspiration for participation of Middle East youth should not be undermined. The Middle Eastern youth, now more than ever, realize how important participation is for them, their societies and future. But because of entrenched institutional arrangements, dated governing procedures and inadequate evaluation and accountability mechanisms, young people have been limited in participating in the decision-making processes.

In more than half of the countries in the region, the youth are almost entirely excluded from participation in parliament, reaching a low of 7% in parliaments of Bahrain and Lebanon. In addition, only 3 countries (Yemen, Egypt and Jordan) have established youth-related legislatives. Committees on sport, culture or family affairs are used instead to address youth issues in most countries in the region.

Page 41 of 44

Nonetheless, many states in the region have recently refocused their efforts on issues faced by the youth. Young people are now being recognized as an integral part of the population that could be active agents of social, political and economical transformations. With new, developing civil society organizations and many young people using information and communication technologies, the youth in the Middle East are able to voice their opinions more and address issues and shape their communities.

6. Trends in the Middle East 

The total fertility rate in the region is declining from seven to three children.



One out of every three people in the region is between the ages of 10 and 24.



Girls are now enrolled in primary school at the same rate as boys. More young women are entering university, even outnumbering male students in some countries.



As the “youth bulge” enters childbearing age itself, it will provide momentum for continued population growth in the region despite the declining fertility.



The population in the Middle East is projected to reach 690 million by 2050.



The overall youth share in the population of the Middle East is expected to decline to 17% by 2025, although the number of people between ages 15 – 24 is still expected to increase by 7 million.

7. References 

Dhillon, Navtel & Salehi-Isfahani, Djavad. Stalled Youth Transitions in the Middle East: A Framework for Policy Reform 2008



Dhillon, Navtej & Yousef, Tarik. Inclusion: Meeting the 100 Million Youth Challenge. 2007



http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2010/06_middle_east_youth.aspx sc_lang=en#_ftn5



https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_mde.html



http://data.worldbank.org/region/MNA



http://www.e4earabyouth.com/downloads/IFCBook_A4_Online_Complete.pdf



http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_elm/--trends/documents/publication/wcms_143349.pdf



http://www.nato-pa.int/default.asp?SHORTCUT=743



http://www.shababinclusion.org



http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources/ColExecutive_Summary_v9_clean[1 ].pdf Page 42 of 44



http://social.un.org/index/Youth/FactSheets.aspx



http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/wyr07_chapter_4.pdf



http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm



http://unworldyouthreport.org/

Page 43 of 44

Page 44 of 44