Global Youth Development Report 2020

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See the latest, YDI Update 2023 report

What is the Youth Development Index?

The Youth Development Index (YDI) is a resource for researchers, policy-makers and civil society, including young people, to track progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with youth development.

Youth development is a process that enhances the status of young people, empowering them to build on their competences and capabilities for life and enabling them to contribute and benefit from a politically stable, economically viable and legally supportive environment, ensuring their full participation as active citizens in their countries.

The 2020 YDI measures progress in 181 countries, including 48 of the 54 Commonwealth countries, across six domains of youth development:

• Health and Wellbeing
• Education
• Employment and Opportunity
• Political and Civic Participation
• Equality and Inclusion
• Peace and Security.

Changes in 27 indicators across the six domains are tracked over the period 2010–2018. Where indicators are used that refer specifically to the situation of the youth population, the definition of 'youth' is of persons 15–29 years old (though in some cases data is available only for those 15–24 years old).

The methodology and indicators used to compile the YDI have been updated since the last report in 2016 and, for the first time, levels of 'Peace and Security' and 'Equality and Inclusion' are being measured. Full details of the indicators comprising the index and the methodology are found in Chapter 1 and Annex 1 of the report.

How should we interpret the YDI?

The YDI is a tool that compares scores between countries and regions but does not provide insight on variations or inequalities in youth development within a country. It also does not measure every aspect of youth development – focusing instead on a core set of indicators that expert literature has shown heavily influences development outcomes for young people. There is a strong relationship between the YDI and most of the SDGs – meaning that countries that perform well on youth development also tend to have made greater progress towards the SDGs.

The YDI score is a number between 0 and 1, with a score of 1 representing the highest level of youth development across all indicators, and a score of 0 indicating little to no youth development. In Chapter 2 of the report, countries are grouped into one of four categories – 'very high', 'high', 'medium' and 'low' – which reflect their position on a spectrum ranging from 'relatively good' to 'relatively poor' levels of youth development. The scoring system is the same as the one that underpins the Human Development Index. The 2020 YDI categories by score are as follows.

How should we use the YDI?

The YDI allows us to take a temperature check on progress towards youth development in the world. Increasing or declining scores signal the need for further investigation and dialogue on the situation of young people and prompt action to scale up good practice or undertake reforms. It is not a definitive diagnosis or situation analysis of each country’s policies or programmes. However, it is an indication of collective progress or decline towards ensuring that young people are not left behind in the pursuit of the SDGs.

Key findings for 2020

On average, youth development has been improving, although progress is slow. Between 2010 and 2018, the global average youth development score improved by 3.1 per cent.

156 of the 181 countries included in the index (86 per cent) improved their scores. Singapore had the highest level of youth development and Chad the lowest.

Top 10 Global Countries by Rank

1. Singapore

2. Slovenia

3. Norway

4. Malta

5. Denmark

6. Sweden

7. Switzerland

8. Netherlands

9. Ireland

10. Luxembourg

Tracking progress in the Commonwealth is important, given that more than 60 per cent of its population of over 2 billion is under 30 years old. Of the 48 Commonwealth countries included in the 2020 YDI, 40 (83 per cent) improved their scores. The Commonwealth average score improved by 2.8 per cent, compared with a 3.1 per cent improvement in the global average.

Although two Commonwealth countries (Singapore and Malta) are in the top 10 of global countries, one (Mozambique) is in the lowest-ranked countries. More than half of the Commonwealth countries included in the index are in the low or medium youth development categories.

The results

The key findings of the 2020 YDI are that:

• The global average youth development score improved by 3.1 per cent between 2010 and 2018.
• Singapore had the highest level of youth development on the 2020 YDI, followed by Slovenia, Norway, Malta and Sweden.
• Chad had the lowest level, followed by Central African Republic, Niger, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
• Of the 181 countries included on the 2020 YDI, 156, or 86 per cent, recorded improvements in the eight year period.
• The top five risers from 2010 to 2018 were Afghanistan, India, Russia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso.
• Syria, Ukraine, Libya, Yemen and Jordan were the largest fallers.
• On average, the top five risers improved their score by 15.74 per cent while the five largest fallers saw an average deterioration of 10.28 per cent.
• The global average improved in five out of the six domains on the YDI.
• The largest global improvement was recorded in Health and Well-being, which improved by 4.39 per cent between 2010 and 2018.
• Political and Civic Participation was the only domain to record an average global deterioration, albeit minimal, at 0.18 per cent.

Overall YDI 2020 scores of all 181 countries, ranked