Global Youth Development Index and Report Development 2020 Global Youth Global Youth Development Report 2020 Global Youth Development Index and Report 2020 Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom © Commonwealth Secretariat 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher. Published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Typeset by Nova Techset Private Ltd Printed by APS Group Views and opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the author(s) and should in no way be attributed to the institutions to which they are affiliated or to the Commonwealth Secretariat. Wherever possible, the Commonwealth Secretariat uses paper sourced from sustainable forests or from sources that minimise a destructive impact on the environment. Copies of this publication may be obtained from: Publications Section Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6534 Email: [email protected] Web: https://books.thecommonwealth.org/ A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN (paperback): 978-1-84929-200-9 ISBN (e-book): 978-1-84859-992-5 \ iii The Commonwealth is an association of 54 independent countries, comprising large and small, developed and developing, landlocked and island economies. As the main intergovernmental body of the association, the Commonwealth Secretariat works with member governments to deliver on priorities agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government and promotes international consensus building. It provides technical assistance and advisory services to members, helping governments achieve sustainable, inclusive and equitable development. The Secretariat’s work programme encompasses areas such as democracy, rule of law, human rights, governance and social and economic development. The Youth Development Index 2020 was intended to be published at CHOGM 2020. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed its publication until 2021 but it remains as the 2020 report to reflect its conception. The report is also based upon data up to 2018 as this is the most up to date comparable global data available. This does mean that the report cannot take proper account of the significant impact of the global pandemic. Rather our hope is that it serves as a baseline for use by policy makers, governments and the public in their discussion of and decisions on policies effecting young people and how we invest in them to help us build back better, both nationally and internationally, from the devastation of COVID-19. iv \ \ v Foreword Taking Charge of our Future: youth development issues and policy directions vi \ Foreword The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC that progress and which we hope will be of use Secretary General of the Commonwealth not just to the Commonwealth, but to the whole world. Now in its third iteration, this index has As we work together to recover and rebuild been strengthened to measure new dimensions from the heart-breaking losses and far-reaching of progress – on equality and inclusion, and on consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, we peace and security – while continuing to analyse need to draw as fully as possible on the energy and changes in the foundational elements of the index: imagination of young people. Following a period education, health and well-being, employment and of immense social and economic dislocation opportunity, and political and civic participation. and turmoil, our focus for the future must be on The data used to compile the index was gathered reconnecting with one another, and on innovating before the COVID-19 pandemic and uses the and transforming to build greater resilience into latest available data to enable global comparability. our systems. As a result, this data and iteration of the index In the Commonwealth, we are fortunate to be able does not take into account the pandemics to draw on the resourcefulness and creativity of the impact. However, it sets a baseline for us as more than 1.2 billion young people between the we begin the work of rebuilding nationally and ages of 15 and 29 years who live in our 54 member internationally, in our communities and collectively countries, and who are indispensable to delivering in the Commonwealth, from the many impacts a common future that is fairer and more inclusive, of COVID-19, it will be important to focus on the more sustainable and more resilient. fundamentals of human capital development. This means paying attention to the depredations Continuing progress towards achieving the and disproportionate disruption to education and Sustainable Development Goals is vital to building employment experienced by young people. We the world we want to see, and to do so we need to need transformative programmes for investing be able reliably and progressively to measure and in the health and well-being of youth, and for monitor the ways in which young people live, learn mobilising their advocacy and practical action to and work in our communities. We need to be able to build a more equal, just and peaceful world. assess the extent to which youth are encouraged and empowered to add their contributions to our Let us be inspired by the profiles featured in this societies, and supported with enabling policies report of Commonwealth youth who, through their and tools. imagination and innovation, with commitment to collective action and inclusiveness, are driving The Commonwealth’s global Youth Development forward in fairer and more sustainable ways the Index (YDI) is one of the tools that has significantly delivery of our common future. enhanced our capacity to interrogate and assess Foreword \ vii Foreword Hon Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Government of Uganda and Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Task Force At the 9th Meeting of with disabilities in the education and employment Commonwealth Youth sectors. Significantly, the revised domain on Political Ministers in 2017, we and Civic Participation includes new measures of committed to inter alia the extent to which young people have accessed strengthening our opportunities for participation as well as measures mainstreamed approach of the state of the enabling policy and institutional to supporting youth environment for participation. participation in This global report stands alongside the other governance, to building investments in youth data we have made within youth work capacity, to the Commonwealth including working with national developing new ideas for statistical offices and international partners to financing youth development and improving data for produce regional state of youth reports in Africa monitoring our progress on pursuing positive and the Pacific, a regional youth development index outcomes for youth in relation to the Sustainable in ASEAN and embarking on national YDI projects Development Goals (SDGs). in several countries including Australia, Namibia We mandated the Secretariat to strengthen the and Pakistan. global youth development index, including to The message of this report is clear. We have made consider the differential experiences of vulnerable some progress on key development outcomes for young people including those living in poverty and young people between 2010 and 2018. We have those with disabilities. We also mandated improved also improved our capacity to monitor that progress measurement of youth participation – a critical part at a global level. However, with the significant of the youth development experience which has effects and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic been the most challenging to measure at a global which have occurred since the completion of this level. index, we must prepare to respond to an anticipated Those mandates have been fulfilled with this 2020 negative impact on the gains that have been global Youth Development Index and report which achieved over the last decade. This report calls on outlines an index significantly updated in scope and us to redouble efforts on youth data collection so depth. The inclusion of new domains and indicators that we can account for some of these effects in on Equality and Inclusion and Peace and Security the next iteration of the index; and we can use that are positive developments in understanding evidence to inform new and effective strategies to the experiences of young people across the build resilience into our youth development policies world, including differences between young men and programmes and support young people to and young women and those facing economic continue to take charge of leading us sustainably marginalization. The report also includes analysis and inclusively into a common future of peace of the differential experiences of young people and prosperity. viii \ Global Youth Development Index and Report Foreword \ viii Foreword Tijani Christian, JP Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council Today, the world has the improving, although progress is slow. Between 2010 largest population of and 2018, the global average youth development youth people in score has improved by 3.1 per cent. existence, with the While progress is growth, no matter how small, Commonwealth alone and should be celebrated, the YDI allows us to having 60 per cent of its see beyond averages and