Human Index

The numbers game
Youth constitute 18 per cent of the global population. Youth and children together, including all those aged 24 years and younger, account for nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population.
The number of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 is 1.1 billion

Where do they live?
Geographically speaking, the largest population of youth is concentrated in Asia and the Pacific. Approximately 60 per cent of youth live in Asia; 15 per cent, in Africa; 10 per cent, in Latin America and the Caribbean; and the remaining 15 per cent, in developed countries and regions.

And economically speaking?
About 85 per cent of the world’s population of youth lives in developing countries. Nearly half (45.9 per cent) live in low-income countries, while another third (34.1 per cent) live in lower middle-income countries. The remaining fifth (20 per cent) of youth live in upper middle- and high-income countries.
Approximately 238 million youth live in extreme poverty—that is, they live on less than $1 a day; 462 million youth survive on less than $2 a day.
About 255 million young people live in the 19 countries with the largest poverty gaps; 15 of these 19 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.

What about roti, shiksha,rozgar???
Experts estimate that, in the 49 countries classified as having a high proportion of undernourished people, 110 million youth live in hunger.
About 133 million youth in the world are illiterate.
Youth comprise 41 per cent of the world’s unemployed people.

Health and survival
About 11.8 million young people are living with HIV or AIDS; 7.3 million of those infected are young women. Youth amount to one-third of the total global population living with HIV or AIDS.

Living in a violent world!
Experts estimate that 1.6 million people die each year as a result of violence, including homicide and war. Violence is one of the leading causes of death for youth and young adults.
Boys and young men make up a large proportion of those recruited or forced to fight in conflicts and wars, - -there are more than 300,000 child soldiers around the world. Girls and young women are especially vulnerable to rape and may be forced into sex slavery.

Crucial areas for youth and a better tomorrow….
10 priority areas of concern for young people are education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure time activities, girls and young women, and participation.

On the other hand….
Nominations for MTV’s youth icons for 2005 included Sonia Gandhi, Shahrukh Khan, Manish Malhotra, Irfan Pathan, Azim Premji, Sonu Nigam and Sania Mirza.
Who finally made the grade? Shahrukh Khan!