Global Youth Development Index: Commonwealth ranks Nigeria 161st
By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor Art
Nigeria is ranked 161st on the 2020 Global Youth Development Index, which measures the status of young people in 181 countries around the world, according to the Commonwealth triennial rankings of youth development released yesterday.
Singapore ranked top for the first time, followed by Slovenia, Norway, Malta and Denmark. But Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Niger came last, respectively.
The index shows that the conditions of young people have improved around the world by 3.1 per cent – between 2010 and 2018 – but progress remains slow.
The index is contained in a release by the Commonwealth Secretariat in its triennial rankings of youth development in 181 countries, with 156 of them recording at least slight improvements in their scores.
The index ranks countries between 0.00 (lowest) and 1.00 (highest) according to developments in youth education, employment, health, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation.
It examines 27 indicators, including literacy and voting, to showcase the state of the world’s 1.8 billion people between the age of 15 and 29.
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According to the report, while the data used in the index predates COVID-19, it also highlights the positive trajectory of youth development, which the virus could reverse for the first time, unless urgent action is taken to secure the pre-pandemic gains.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, described young people as indispensable to delivering a future that is more just, inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
She noted that by measuring their contributions and needs with hard data, our advocacy for their development becomes more powerful, and we are then able incrementally to increase the positive impact and benefits youth are able to add towards building a better future for us all.
“Our Youth Development Index is a vital tool which has already significantly enhanced our capacity to assess the extent to which youth are engaged to contribute beneficially in their societies, and empowered by enabling policies and tools,” she said.
Scotland added: “While the data used to compile the index was gathered before the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings indicate where progress was being achieved and where it was not, and that urgent action is now needed so that pre-pandemic gains are not lost but sustained and developed further, more broadly and more inclusively.
“As we work to recover and rebuild from the many consequences of the pandemic, we need to draw as fully as possible on the energy and idealism of youth so that fresh opportunities for social, economic and political development are opened up with present and future generations of young people equipped and empowered to fulfill their potential.”