Commonwealth to launch first Youth Development Index

The first worldwide index measuring the development and empowerment of young people will be launched by The Commonwealth on 19 September.  

The Youth Development Index (YDI) offers an inter-country comparison of the environment for young people, aged 15 to 29, across five key areas: education, health, employment, civic participation and political participation. 

The first comprehensive attempt to aggregate global data on young people, the YDI was formulated to help decision-makers identify and learn from areas of success, pinpoint priority areas for investment, and track progress over time. The methodology was developed by independent academic experts from across The Commonwealth, in conjunction with the Institute for Economics and Peace.  

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma will launch the YDI and its accompanying website and report on Thursday, 19 September, at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters at Marlborough House in London.  

Mr Sharma said: “The Index shows that on certain indicators some smaller Commonwealth member countries have gained higher scores than larger or higher-income counterparts. This shows that all our member states, large or small, at whatever stage of development, can benefit from sharing experiences and best practice in youth development. 

“Young people aged 15-29 make up on average about 28% of the population of Commonwealth countries, and about 60% of the Commonwealth population is under 30. It is vital that young people are able to realise their full potential to shape their nations’ future.  

“The YDI is a powerful tool for benchmarking and monitoring progress that will help national ministries identify where greater investment is required and underlines the importance of continued and improved data collection on youth development indicators.” 

Journalists are welcome to register to attend the launch at 10am (BST) on Thursday, 19 September.