Youth Barometer Report - 2017

Abstract

A quarter of the world’s population today is constituted of 1.8 billion adolescents and youth (between the ages of 10 and 24 years) – the largest youth population ever. There has never been earlier so many young people and consequently never before there has been such a humongous opportunity for economic and social development. This swell in the worldwide population of young people has the unprecedented potential to metamorphose economies for better or worse, contingent on the decisions and inclination of today's policy makers and how well governments respond to young people’s needs and enable them to engage fully and implicitly in public and economic affairs. This enormous growth in both the number and share of youth in the population in much of the developing world has ensued a phenomenon increasingly being stated as “youth bulge”. This evolution is indicated by a striking change in the age structure of the population, where the proportion of youth increases substantially compared to other age groups, both older and younger. It has occurred as a result of demographic transition, that is, decreasing early childhood mortality followed, with a lag, by diminishing fertility. This demographic transition paves the way for demographic dividend. That is, for a country to realize a demographic dividend, it must first undergo a demographic transition. Economies which have sizeable cohorts of adolescents and youth can reap a substantial demographic dividend for national progress, resilience and sustainability. India accounts for 17.5 percent of total global population (5). With a youth population of 356 million, India alone has the world’s highest number of 10 to 24-year-olds—despite having a smaller population than China, which has 269 million young people. Despite this ardent calling for greater attention to young people in recent years, there is a dearth of research-based evidence that can inform policies and help framing apt strategic interventions rather than making untargeted action plans. In fact data in the youth sector is a mixed bag being both almost all-inclusive in some areas and almost completely absent in others. International research agencies (such as WHO, UNFPA and UNESCO) and Government of India (Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation) maintain fairly comprehensive youth-specific statistics on health, education and employment indicators. However, in other areas like youth opinion, perception, participation and engagement there have been virtually no data or associated statistics. There is only scanty reliable and comparable data collected on youth participation and perception. This is despite the emphasis on youth participation and engagement. In recognition of the importance of the growing population of young people in India, several policies and programmes have been formulated since 2000 such as the National Youth Policy or the National Population Policy, however their implementation and effective translation in to interventions have been limited on account of a lack of understanding about the needs of the youth. Evidence based research and data is needed to make sure that the voices of youth remain an active part of the process of implementation of the policies and framing of the relevant interventions. Therefore Magic Bus foundation has conceptualized and conducted a pioneering systematic survey – named as Youth Barometer to ensure that the voices of youth remain an active part of the process of implementation. It is a part of a series of annual surveys with an objective to understand and monitor the changing concerns among 18 - 24 year old Indian youth. It aims to bridge the knowledge gap, inform and feed the agendas, policies and plans of government and other stakeholders through the well-researched findings and recommendations of the study. By hearing out the needs and aspirations of these youth through this survey, Magic Bus eventually attempts to give them access to opportunities that will break their cycle of deprivation, developing them into fully engaged and participative citizens of India through coordinated and synchronised efforts along with multi-strategic partners. The underlying belief which drives this study is that it is only when the nation actually hears the voice of youth will it take the appropriate action. Rightly put by Kofi Annan--Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.