Situation of youth in the 1980s.

Situation of youth in the 1980s

Four out of five young people today live in developing regions--734 million, compared with 187 million young people in the developed areas--and the numbers are growing. In 1950, youth in less developed regions comprised 69 per cent of the total world youth population; in 1970, 74 per cent; in 1984, 80 per cent. They are expected to reach 84 per cent of the global youth total by the year 2000.

Youth populations in 1984 were distributed among the major regions as follows: Asia (more than 60 per cent of world youth) with South Asia constituting 34 per cent and East Asia 28 per cent of world youth totals; Africa (11 per cent); Latin America (9 per cent); Europe (8 per cent); North America (5 per cent); Soviet Union (5 per cent); and Oceania (5 per cent).

Growth rates in those areas differ widely. Between 1970 and 1984, the share of the world youth population increased in Africa, Latin America and South Asia, remained constant in East Asia and Oceania, and decreased in North America, Europe and the Soviet Union. Those trends are expected to continue from 1985 to 2000, except that Africa's share will increase at a much more rapid pace than before and East Asia's share will exhibit a sharp downturn.

Of the 922 million young people in 1984, 410 million (44 per cent) lived in urban areas and 512 million (56 per cent) in rural areas. The highest proportion was in the Soviet Union (81 per cent) and North America (80 per cent), followed by Oceania (79 per cent) and Western Europe (74 per cent).

Among the less developed regions, Latin America had the highest proportion of youth urban residents (70 per cent). Less than half the youth were urban residents in Africa (36 per cent), East Asia (35 per cent) in South Asia (30 per cent).

For the period 1984-2000, the largest increases in the proportion of urban youth population are projected for Africa (36 to 47 per cent). East Asia (35 to 47 per cent) and South Asia (30 to 42 per cent). A substantial decline in the growth rate of the urban youth population is expected in East Asia, however.

In 1984, there were 470 million males and 452 million females in the 15-to-24 age range. The ratio of male to female youth has changed only slightly since 1950, decreasing from 104.3 to 104.0 in 1960 and 103.9 in 1984. It is expected to decline to 103.7 by 1990, then rise again to 103.9 by the year 2000. The excess of males over females is most pronounced in Oceania, South Asia, Europe and East Asia; less in the Soviet Union and North America; and substantially smaller in Latin America and Africa.

Trends

Youth are among the most vulnerable of all groups to the effects of the current global social and economic crisis. In the 1980s, the major problem areas that have affected young people throughout the world are those related to development, the family, work and culture. The integration of young people into the development process has "clearly been insufficient". The problems of unemployment and underemployment have worsened implacably. Educational reform has not kept pace with social needs; there is a wide gap between formal schooling and the world of work. The relationship between young people and their families has become increasingly fragile as a result of a variety of outside pressures. Much cultural ferment has taken place, so that the socialization of youth is no longer a simple transmission, through the family, of accepted values, attitudes and roles.

Although many of the problems encountered by youht are universal, they may manifest themselves in ways unique to each region. Following are trends and concerns relating to youth in the five major regions.

Africa: Youth population in 1984 numbered 102.2 million, or 19 per cent of the total African population. The rural/urban distribution of youth was 64 and 36 per cent, respectively, projected to be 53 and 47 per cent by the year 2000. Agricultural problems and drought throughout Africa have had wide repercussions on overall economic acticity in the continent, with particularly adverse consequences for the employment prospects of young people.

School enrolment for girls is generally lower than for boys, and young women constitute a sizeable proportion of the out-of-school youth. A large proportion of the more than 5 million refugees on the continent are young people. In Mozambique, for example, they account for 4,500 of the refugee population of 5,000; in Kenya, 20 per cent of refugees are 6-17 years old, and 43 per cent of them, between 18 and 30.

Asia and the Pacific: The youth population in 1984 was 255.8 million for East Asia, 311.9 million for South and West Asia, and 4 million for Oceania. The rural/urban distribution was 65 and 35 per cent for East Asia, 70 and 30 per cent for South Asia, and 22 and 78 per cent for Oceania. Projections for the year 2000 give rural/urban distributions of 53 and 47 for East Asia, 59 and 41 per cent for South Asia, and 17 and 83 per cent for Oceania.

In most of the countries of the region, youth represent approximately one fifth of the total population. They are among the most disadvantaged groups in the rural areas of many countries. Rural workers are seriously underemployed, working short days or short seasons for very low wages. The problem is further complicated by cash-cropping and mechanization.

Unemploymenet and underemployment are also serious problems for urban youth in the region. For many, the situation is exacerbated by the disjunction between educational and occupational structures, and between the expectatioin of finding jobs and the reality of their unavailability.

In urban areas, the proportion of unemployed secondary-school and university graduates has increased, despite a literacy rate as high as 90 per cent in some countries. A large percentage of rural youth--particularly women--never even enter the educational system.

Europe and North America: In 1984, the youth population of Europe was 76.8 million, or 16 per cent of the total population. The rural/urban distribution was 26 and 74 per cent, projected to be 21 and 79 per cent by the year 2000. The North American youth population was 44.8 million or 17 per cent of the total in 1984. The rural/urban ditribution was 20 and 80 per cent, projected to reach 16 and 84 by the end of the century.

the present generation is one of the most widely educated in the history of Europe and North America. There has been an increase in opportunities for vocational and technical training, and in efforts to make school curricula conform more closely to the demands of work and social participation. However, youth unemployment has assumed increasingly serious proportions; in 1981, it was as high as 40-50 per cent in some Western European countries. Even where unemployment per se remains low, related problems have assumed significance: underemployment, job dissatisfaction, poor working conditions and the value of work performed.

In the centrally planned economies of Europe, there is no unemployment because the right to work is guaranteed and young people are integrated into the economy after education or training. Recent labour shortages in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have led to another problem--how best to distribute the young labour force and ensure its smooth integration into working life.

Young women in North America and Western Europe continue to maintain narrow occupational aspirations and, because of discrimination, to have difficulty entering fields traditionally reserved for men. Weighed against that, however, is a positive trend: Female labour force participation rates rose throughout the 1970s, as did female nerolment rates in formal education. With this rise--and the disproportionate burdens of childcare and domestic labour carried by women--the total hours of women's work have risen as well.

Latin AMERICA: The youth population in 1984 was 80.4 million, or 20 per cent of the total Latin American population. The rural/urban distribution was 30 and 70 per cent respectively, and is projected to be 23 and 77 per cent in the year 2000.

The most significant phenomenon in the transformation of Latin America's occupational structure in recent years has been the decrease in the number of people in the agricultural sector. This is particularly pronounced among young people, who constitute a majority of the rural-urban migratory flow. As urbanization increases, more and more young people enter the informal work sector. It is estimated than in 1980 the informal sector absorbed 14 per cent of the total economically active urban population in the region.

Lack of employment opportunities is the greatest problem facing young people in Latin America. Unemployment rates are as much as 15 per cent. A survey in one of the major cities showed that only 25 per cent of youth aged 15 to 18 had regular jobs, and half of those worked as messengers or maintenance workers.

There is a clear link between poverty and educational deficiency. Although nearly all children in the region have access to primary school, only half manage to complete an average educational cycle of six years.

Western Asia: In 1984, the youth population of Western Asia was 22.6 million, or 20 per cent of the total population. Young people have been affected dramatically by wars that have rocked the region, decimating the youth population, and by the oil crisis, which has completely transformed the social and economic structure of Western Asia, causing among other things a huge influx of migrant labour and "detrimental consumer patterns" among young people.

Some 75 per cent of the total youth population in Western Asia receives no formal education. In 1980, 27 per cent were economically active, with higher employment averages in the oil countries and lower in other areas. As in other regions, women are particularly vulnerable, and female illiteracy remains a particular problem. In the labour market, women hardly figure at all.

A number of States in the region have large immigrant populations, creating a need for programmes and services for them. Foreigners constitute 35 per cent of the total youth population in six of the Gulf States.