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| United Nations : DESA : Gateway to Social Policy and Development: Youth: Q and A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Questions and Answers |
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Here are some frequently-asked questions on youth, and of
course, their answers. - What does the UN mean by "youth," and how does this
definition differ from that given to children? Answer Q - What does the UN mean by "youth," and how does this definition differ from that given to children? A- The United Nations General Assembly defined ‘youth’, as those persons falling between the ages of 15 and 24 years inclusive. This definition was made for International Youth Year, held around the world in 1985. All United Nations statistics on youth are based on this definition, as illustrated by the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the United Nations system on demography, education, employment and health. By that definition, therefore, children are those persons under the age of 14. It is, however, worth noting that Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines ‘children’ as persons up to the age of 18. This was intentional, as it was hoped that the Convention would provide protection and rights to as large an age-group as possible and because there was no similar United Nations Convention on the Rights of Youth. Many countries also draw a line on youth at the age at which a person is given equal treatment under the law – often referred to as the "age of majority’. This age is often 18 in many countries, and once a person passes this age, they are considered to be an adult. However, the operational definition and nuances of the term ‘youth’ often vary from country to country, depending on the specific socio-cultural, institutional, economic and political factors. Within the category of "youth", it is also important to distinguish between teenagers (13-19) and young adults (20-24), since the sociological, psychological and health problems they face may differ. Q - How many youth are there in the world today? A - Approximately one billion youth live in the world today. This means that approximately one person in five is between the age of 15 and 24 years, or 17% of the world’s population are "youth". As you can see from the table, it is interesting to note that despite an increase in absolute numbers, the proportion of young people in the world is actually dwindling! This means that the number of young people in the world between 1980 and 1995 has dropped as a proportion of the total population. In fact, during the 1990s, the annual growth rates among the world’s youth population have slowed down in every region of the world except Africa. For more details on youth statistics visit our Youth Profiles page.
Q - Where does the world’s youth live? A - The majority (85%) of the world’s youth live in developing countries, with approximately 60 percent in Asia alone. A remaining 23 percent live in the developing regions of Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. By 2020, the number of youth living in developing countries will grow to 89%. Therefore, it is necessary to take youth issues into considerations in the development agenda and policies of each country. Despite mass urbanization, the majority of youth live in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa, south-eastern and south-central Asia and Oceania.
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Q - Has the United Nations adopted any conventions and covenants concerning youth? A - Certainly! The following are some examples of how the United Nations system has worked to adopt various conventions, covenants, and recommendations, explicitly dealing with youth rights and the protection of youth.
As you can see above, the United Nations has adopted several Declarations and Programmes of Action at the various world conferences it held throughout the early 1990’s. Many of these make specific references to youth and the rights they should be afforded. |
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Q - What does the UN identify as priority youth issues? A - Among other youth-related issues, the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond identifies the following ten issues that should be of the highest priority to Governments.
If you want to read more about those issues, click here to see the World Programme of Action for the Year 2000 and Beyond. |
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© 1998-2000 United Nations. Last update 6 April 2001. |
