Iraq Human Development Report 2014 Iraqi Youth Challenges and Opportunities Iraq Human Development Report 2014 Iraqi Youth Challenges and Opportunities Iraqi youth draw their dreams on the T-walls First Published 2014 Copyright © 2014 Ministry of Planning And Baytal Hikma Iraq 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, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission. Disclaimer The views expressed herein are those of the authors of the report and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Planning, Baytul Hikma, or UNDP. This work was originally published in Arabic. In cases of discrepancies, the original language shall govern. ESCWA Contents Preface 7 UNDP Foreword 8 Why a National Human Development Report? 9 Acknowledgements 10 Iraq NHDR 2014 Team 11 Acronyms 12 Preparing NHDR 2014: 13 A Participatory Approach 13 Overview 15 CHAPTER 1 Human Development: 19 An Action Methodology and a Vision 19 Why Youth? Other Dimensions of Human Development Focus of the Report Political Dimension Conceptual Framework Cultural Dimension Keeping Pace with Concepts and Measurements Interaction of Dimensions and Dialectic of Exclusion/Inclusion Global Debate on the Post-2015 Development Goals CHAPTER 2 The Challenge of Human Development in Iraq 26 The State of Human Development Multidimensional Poverty Index Measuring Human Development in Iraq Who Suffers from Multidimensional Poverty in Iraq? Human Development Index Youth Development Index Human Development Index in Kurdistan The Youth Development Index Measurement Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index The Youth Development Index Domains Gender Inequality Index Youth Development Index in the Governorates Women’s Empowerment16 YDI as A Tool for Monitoring and Advocating Youth Gender Inequality Index by Governorate Progress Women’s Participation in Governorate Councils Priorities in Economic Empowerment CHAPTER 3 Demographic Challenges 42 Three Demographic Challenges Youthful Population Slow Decline in Fertility Rates Population Mobility and Migration CHAPTER 4 The Youth and Economic Challenges 51 The Challenge of Youth Unemployment The Challenge of a Rentier Economy32 Youth Economic Activity The Public Budget as a Tool to Steer the Economy How Do Young People Get a Job? Utilization of Oil Revenues Youth Unemployment Characteristics National Budget: The Main Generator of Employment Oppor- Unsuccessful Measures tunities Youth Underemployment The Political Economy of the Rentier State Underemployed Young People’s Workplace Unattractive Environment for Entrepreneurship Young Women’s Working Pattern Suggests Exclusion Young People in Business Unemployment and Poverty CHAPTER 5 Social and Cultural Challenges 65 Youth and Family Familial Relations Do Not Limit Youth Choices Youth Dependence on Family The Generation Gap and Social Exclusion Marriage and Starting a New Family: The Road to Social Inte- Discrimination and Violence against Young Women gration Discriminative Upbringing 2 IRAQ HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2014 Family Violence Excludes Young Women Cultural Heritage Marriage of Underage Girls: a Typical Form of Family Religious Values Violence Tribal Values When Traditions Become Persecution Crisis of Youth or of Society? Protection from Family Violence Pluralism and the Iraqi Case Youth and Social Values System Issues of Concern to Youth CHAPTER 6 Education Opportunities for the Youth 84 Is Education a Portal to Social Integration? Education Opportunities Out of Step with Youth Aspirations High Illiteracy Rate Education Opportunities Out of Step with the Labour Market Low Educational Attainment of the Youth The Education System Does Not Offer Young Students Ap- propriate Disciplines Unequal Educational Attainment of the Youth The Education System Does Not Provide the Infrastructure Disparities in Enrolment Rates of the Youth for a Knowledge-oriented Society Why do the Youth Drop Out? The Youth’s View: How to Make Education Better Depriving Children of Education Finance: Does It Limit the Youth’s Attainment of Alternative Educational Approaches Education? Institutional Challenges Public–Private Partnerships Vocational Education Does Not Attract Youth Acquisition of Knowledge Beyond Education Expanding University Education Young People Do Not Read Deferred Dreams: Where Do Graduates Go? A Free Press Attracts Young People Access to Higher Education Has Increased, but Media Outlets Favourable among Young People What about Education Quality? TV as Entertainment and a Source of Knowledge CHAPTER 7 Youth, Participation, and Citizenship 103 Youth Citizenship and National Identity Citizenship Education Social Upbringing Young People’s Political and Social Participation Youth and Multiculturalism Are the Youth Reluctant to Participate Politically? Communication and National Identity New Opportunities for Communication and Partici- pation Decentralization Supports Youth Citizenship The Internet’s Impact on Young People CHAPTER EIGHT Orientations and Policies 115 Summary and Conclusions Social Policy Reforms Towards a Youth-empowering Environment Young Women’s Empowerment General Orientations Education as an Empowerment Mechanism A Human Development-sponsoring State Policies for Youth Participation in Political Stability Policy Recommendations Building a Culture of Peace and Security and Safeguarding Social Cohesion The Economic Policy The Social Policy Civil Society and Youth ANNEX I Statistical Tables 127 Table 1 Human Development Index (HDI) and its compo- nets IRAQ HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2014 3 Table 2 Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index Table 11 Health (IHDI) Table 11 Health Table 3 Gender Inequality Index (GII) Table 12 Education Table 4 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Table 13 Economic activity for Age 15+ Table 5 Youth Development Index (YDI) Table 14 Indicators of the standard of living of the Iraqi Table 5 Youth Development Index (YDI) individual for the year 2012 Table 6 Youth Development Index Table 15 Environmental Sustainability Table 7 Table 16 Youth Health Correlations Matrix between HDI; Consistent Significa- Table 17 Youth Education tions; Table 18 Economic activity for youth Poverty Enhances Deprivation Table 18 Economic activity for youth Table 8 Human Development Indicators Table 19 Living Conditions for Youth Table 9 Millennium Development Goal Indicators Table 20 Political Participation for Youth Table 10 Population Trends Table 21 Environmental sustainability of youth ANNEX II Youth survey tables 156 Table 1 Education Table 9 Relationship with Parents Table 2 Education Table 9 Relationship with Parents Table 2 Education Table 10 Relationship with Parents Table 3 Education Table 11 Youth Choices Table 3 Education Table 12 Security and Citizenship Table 3 Education Table 13 Societal and Political Participation Table 4 Physical Health and Safety Table 13 Societal and Political Participation Table 4 Health and Physical Safety Table 14 Information Technology Table 5 Employment Table 15 Migration Table 5 Employment Table 16 Migration Table 6 Employment Table 17 Migration Table 7 Employment Table 17 Migration Table 7 Employment Table 18 Youth future aspirations Table 8 Employment Table 18 Youth future aspirations ANNEX III Technical Notes Appendix 184 Introduction 1.5 National Youth and Adolescent Survey (NYS-2009) 1 Implemented Surveys 1.6 Youth Opinion Survey (YOS-2012) 1.1 Iraq Knowledge Network Survey (IKN-2011) 2. Calculation of the Human Development Indi- cators: the Methodology and the Measurements 1.2 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS4-2011) 2.1 Human Development Index (HDI) 1.3 Iraq Household Socioeconomic Survey II (IH- SES-2012) 2.2 Inequality Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) 1.4 Iraq Poverty and Maternal Mortality Mapping (IPMM- 2013) MP dimensions and Indicators References and Resources 196 Notes 199 4 IRAQ HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2014 BOXES Box 1.1 20 Box 4.3 56 Youth Statement Successful Measures towards Poverty Alleviation Box 1.1 22 Box 4.4 58 Participation in Post-2015 Development [dialogue] National Development Plan 2013–2017 – No Choice but Oil Box 1.2 22 Box 4.5 61 New Goals for Post-2015 Development Agenda The Public and Private Partnership (PPP) Project Box 1.3 23 Box 4.6 Special Contribution 63 The Importance of Political and Cultural Dimensions National Development Plan 2013–2017 Advocates Young People’s Aspirations Box 2.1 30 Inequality (Gini Coefficient) and GNI Per Capita for 185 Box 5.1 Anti-Underage Marriage 74 Countries An Initiative by Women’s Organizations Box 2.2 36 Box 6.1 94 The Multidimensional Poverty Index as a Tool for Fact-based Sectarian Conflict Limits Freedom of Choice Planning Box 6.2 Special Contribution 95 Box 2.3 37 The Education Initiative– Fulfilling the Aspirations of the Correlation Matrix between Human Development Indices and Youth Some Economic Indicators Box 6.3 100 Box 2.4 40 Iraqi Youth Celebrate Books Differences between HDI and YDI Ranking Box 7.1 110 Box 3.1 50 Hope for Young Women Population Policy 2013 – No More Neglect of Population Is- sues Box 8.1 122 Jobs Needed in the Next Phase Box 4.1 53 Bridging the Gap between the Labour Market and Education Box 8.2 123 Innovative Project to Train the Youth Box 4.2 55 Wastage of Youth Potential Box A3 185 Sources used in computing the Human Development Index YOUTH VIEW & VOICES Iraqi Youth in Jordan – A Different View 48 They Are Poor because They Are Deprived of Education, and Deprived of Education