Preparing for the next 1.9 billion young people

Between 2015 and 2030, 1.9 billion young people are projected to turn 15 years old, a 3 per cent increase at the global level. This young generation represents a major promise for economic development, technological innovation and social change. Globally, the total number of young people is at an all-time high, with 1.2 billion people between the ages of 15 and 24 in 2015 and nearly 1.3 billion projected by 2030. The number of adolescents and youth aged between 15 and 24-years old in Africa will increase from 226 million in 2015 to 321 million in 2030. Increases in the number of young people will be particularly visible in several low- or lower-middle-income African countries, including Burundi, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia, where the number of young people aged between 15 and 24 is projected to increase by more than 60 per cent between 2015 and 2030 (see figure VI). In stark contrast, the number of young people in Asia, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to decline, in some cases significantly. For example, the population aged between 15 and 24 will decline by around 8 per cent in Brazil, China and the Netherlands between 2015 and 2030, and by more than 20 per cent in Albania, Cuba and Thailand.

Related Subject(s): Population and Demography