Education
The Education domain recorded the third-largest average improvement globally from 2010 to 2022, at 4.0 per cent. This was driven by a 7.6 per cent improvement in school completion, indicating that more young people around the world are completing a basic education (UNESCO, n.d.). The global average score for the literacy rate indicator also improved, by 2.7 per cent. Figure 4.1 shows the 2010 and 2022 scores in the Education domain, as well as on each of its component indicators.
There was no recorded change in the digital natives indicator, which scored just under 0.400, because updated time series data is unfortunately not available to measure global progress in young people’s skills and engagement online. In 2014 the International Telecommunication Union estimated that roughly 38.0 per cent of youth worldwide could be considered ‘digital natives’, on the basis of five or more years of internet use.
More than two-thirds of countries worldwide showed an improvement in the Education domain, led by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Laos. The 53 countries that have deteriorated in Education since 2010 are spread around the world, with Liberia recording the largest deterioration, followed by Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Ukraine and Qatar.
All of the nine world regions improved in the Education domain, on average, except for North America, which deteriorated by 0.37 per cent. Figure 4.2 shows the change in each region’s average score from 2010 to 2022.
South Asia was the global region to record the largest improvement, with a 14.26 per cent increase in the regional average, and educational gains recorded in all eight South Asian countries included in the YDI. Bangladesh had the largest improvement in the region, followed by Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the second-largest improvement, as the regional average score increased by 10.41 per cent, with three-fourths of its countries experiencing improvements. Improvements were even seen in regions where educational attainment was already high, such as Europe.
Employment and Opportunity
The Employment and Opportunity domain recorded the largest average improvement from 2010 to 2022, rising by 6.1 per cent. Worldwide, 155 countries improved and 28 deteriorated. Myanmar had the largest improvement, followed by Armenia, Vietnam, the Marshall Islands and Russia. Niger had the largest deterioration, followed by Afghanistan, Angola, Laos and Rwanda.
Progress in this domain was driven largely by a 52.1 per cent improvement on the account indicator score, which measures access to bank accounts and the financial system, including mobile money. Figure 4.3 shows the average 2010 and 2022 scores in Employment and Opportunity, as well as on each of its component indicators.
The second most improved indicator in this domain was adolescent fertility, which improved by 5.9 per cent between 2010 and 2022, indicating that fewer young women are getting pregnant before age 20. Early pregnancies can limit young women’s opportunities to achieve financial independence and pursue a career. Progress on this indicator is a positive sign for economic progress and greater gender equality.
The underemployment indicator showed moderate change, with the global average improving by just shy of 2.0 per cent. The share of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) was the one Employment and Opportunity indicator to register a deterioration since 2010, with the score declining by a little over 0.8 per cent. On the whole, the domain results suggest that more young people around the world are poised for economic independence, but rates of formal and full economic engagement tend to move slowly.
Employment and Opportunity improved in all nine world regions, as Figure 4.4 shows. South America registered the largest improvement, followed by Russia and Eurasia, and North America, with all three recording improvements of more than 8.0 per cent in average domain score. The rest of the world saw more modest improvements, ranging from 6.82 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region to 3.14 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
Equality and Inclusion
The Equality and Inclusion domain recorded an improvement of 2.2 per cent from 2010 to 2022, driven by a 6.4 per cent improvement in the average score on the economic marginalisation indicator. Improvements on economic marginalisation mean that, on average, more youth are being pulled out of extreme poverty and thus have improved opportunities for economic security and inclusion.
Two of the Equality and Inclusion indicators that measure gender parity have improved since 2010; one has deteriorated. Gender parity in NEET improved by 3.9 per cent and gender parity in literacy by 2.1 per cent, whereas gender parity in safety and security deteriorated by 1.3 per cent. The change in gender parity in safety and security was marginal over the decade, with young men around the world reporting significantly higher feelings of safety in their community than was the case for young women. The gender gap in feelings of safety is widest in the world’s most peaceful countries (IEP, 2018). Figure 4.5 shows the 2010 and 2022 scores in Equality and Inclusion, as well as on each of its component indicators.
Worldwide, 142 countries improved in Equality and Inclusion, and 41 deteriorated, resulting in all world regions recording an overall improvement. Guinea had the largest improvement globally, followed by Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia and Cambodia. Yemen had the largest deterioration, followed by Syria, Algeria, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Figure 4.6 shows the change in each region’s average Equality and Inclusion score from 2010 to 2022. South Asia had the largest improvement, with its score rising by 5.26 per cent, as all of its countries experienced improvements. It was followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and South America.
North America and Europe experienced the smallest improvements, with both regions recording increases of less than 1.00 per cent. Both countries of North America registered modest improvements, but more than a third of the countries of Europe registered a deterioration in Equality and Inclusion. The most substantial deteriorations in Europe were recorded in Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, both of whose scores fell by more than 5.0 per cent.
Health and Wellbeing
The Health and Wellbeing domain recorded a 1.8 per cent improvement from 2010 to 2022, driven by improvements on five out of seven indicators. The largest change was an 11.2 per cent improvement on the world’s average HIV rate score. The mortality rate, self-harm, alcohol abuse and tobacco consumption scores also improved, though each by less than 2.0 per cent. In contrast, the global average scores for drug abuse and mental health deteriorated, but by no more than 1.0 per cent each. Figure 4.7 shows the 2010 and 2022 scores in Health and Wellbeing, as well as on each of its component indicators.
Worldwide, 140 countries improved in Health and Wellbeing and 43 deteriorated. Haiti had the largest improvement, with its domain score jumping from 0.419 in 2010 to 0.826 in 2022. Most of the progress in the country was made in 2011, when the country’s Health and Wellbeing score nearly doubled as the country recovered from the devastating earthquake of 2010. Eswatini had the second-largest improvement, at 12.4 per cent, followed by similar gains in Côte d’Ivoire, Russia and Burundi. The Philippines had the largest deterioration globally, at 5.1 per cent, followed by Canada, Sweden, Luxembourg and Lithuania.
Figure 4.8 gives the change in each region’s average score from 2010 to 2022. Results in Central America and the Caribbean led the improving trend in the domain, as 13 out of 18 countries in the region improved. Haiti had the largest improvement in the region, followed by The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Honduras. North America was the only region to deteriorate in this domain, driven by a 3.37 per cent decline in Canada.
Peace and Security
The Peace and Security domain recorded a modest improvement between 2010 and 2022, with the average domain score increasing by 0.2 per cent, driven by a 2.9 per cent improvement in the average interpersonal violence score and a less than 0.1 per cent improvement of the average conflict and terrorism score. This indicates that fewer young people are dying from armed conflict, terrorism and homicide around the world.
However, the internal peace indicator deteriorated by almost 2.1 per cent on average, suggesting that youth are experiencing more violent environments. This contrast is an important area for exploration for the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda adopted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 and reinforced by Resolutions 2419 and 2535. Historically, youth have been those most affected by direct violence. However, a decline in years of life lost despite ever more violent contexts is consistent with the overall trend of changes in the nature of armed conflict over the past decade.
The INFORM score indicator, which measures country-level risk of armed conflict and climate change-induced natural disasters, recorded an unchanged score of 0.620 from 2010 to 2022. This is because time series data is unfortunately not available for this indicator. Figure 4.9 shows the 2010 and 2022 scores in Peace and Security, as well as on each of its component indicators.
There are 104 countries that improved in this domain, whereas 79 deteriorated. Ecuador had the largest improvement globally, followed by Somalia, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Russia. South Sudan had the largest deterioration, followed by Mali, Burkina Faso, Yemen and Ukraine.
Figure 4.10 gives the change in each region’s average score from 2010 to 2022. Results in South Asia drove the improving trend, with a 3.94 per cent increase in the region’s average score and gains in seven out of eight countries. Sri Lanka recorded the region’s largest improvement, at 12.9 per cent, followed by Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives.
MENA, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and North America deteriorated modestly, with declines ranging from 0.13 per cent (North America) to 1.19 per cent (MENA). MENA has generally been the region most affected by armed conflict over the past decade and has thus experienced the largest deterioration of all regions.
Political and Civic Participation
Political and Civic Participation recorded a 5.4 per cent improvement from 2010 to 2022, driven by improvements on three out of four indicators. The largest improvements were seen on the voiced opinion to an official and the volunteered time indicators, which both improved by over 15.0 per cent. Both the voiced opinion to an official indicator and the volunteered time indicator experienced by far their largest improvements between 2020 and 2021, with the rate at which youth voiced their opinions rising by 9.3 per cent (equivalent to 1.6 percentage points) and the rate at which they volunteered time by 10.5 per cent (equivalent to 2.2 percentage points).
The youth policy indicator was unchanged, with the global average score standing at 0.758 between 2010 and 2022. This is because time series data is not available for this indicator.
The recognition for community improvement indicator improved by 10.3 per cent, suggesting that an increasing share of young people around the world are receiving recognition for their investments in improving their communities. However, the scores remain well below those on the other indicators in the domain. This indicator is included in the YDI on the premise that being recognised, or seeing one’s peers recognised, encourages community engagement. Figure 4.11 shows the 2010 and 2022 scores in Political and Civic Participation, as well as on each of its component indicators.
There were 127 countries that experienced improvements in the Political and Civic Participation domain and 56 that experienced deteriorations. Sub-Saharan Africa and South America recorded the largest overall improvements in the domain, with their average scores increasing by 11.35 per cent and 10.48 per cent, respectively. The largest country-level improvement occurred in Indonesia, which improved by 69.5 per cent. South Asia, and the Russia and Eurasia region had the largest deteriorations, declining by 4.75 per cent and 4.73 per cent, respectively. Pakistan had the largest deterioration, declining by 34.3 per cent. Figure 4.12 gives the change in each region’s average Political and Civic Participation score from 2010 to 2022.