Putting Youth First: The Youth Development Index

Issue Highlights
Putting Youth First: The Youth Development Index
1 April 2024
Youth

In 2017, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the ASEAN Youth Development Index (YDI) through a Declaration at the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines. This marked a significant step towards a data-driven approach to youth development across the region. The YDI serves as a tool to measure progress in nine key areas crucial for young people's well-being: health, education, employment, empowerment, participation, peace, security, sustainability, and identity.

The ASEAN Youth Development Index (YDI) serves as a cornerstone regional initiative for advancing youth development across Southeast Asia. Since its inception, the YDI has undergone two key iterations, each building upon the previous one.

The 1st ASEAN YDI, released in 2017, laid the groundwork for future reports. This initial effort highlighted the critical need for evidence-based policymaking, achievable through reliable data collection on youth development.

It established the YDI framework with five key domains: Education, Health and Wellbeing, Employment and Opportunity, Participation and Engagement, and ASEAN Awareness, Values and Identity. Due to data limitations at the time, the first iteration focused on the first four domains. The report also identified positive trends in education across the region but pointed to areas requiring improvement, particularly Employment and Opportunity for young people. Finally, it acknowledged the need for enhanced data collection at the national level to ensure a more comprehensive picture of youth development in ASEAN.

Building on the foundation established by the 1st YDI, the 2nd YDI, released in 2023, offered a deeper understanding of youth development in the region. This report highlighted improvements in Equity and Inclusion, as well as Safety and Security, across the region from 2013 to 2022. It emphasised the need for increased investment in youth policies and programs related to Education and Skills, particularly considering the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 school closures on women and girls. The 2nd YDI reiterated the continued importance of improved data collection for future iterations to strengthen evidence-based policymaking. The report also acknowledged the significant challenges faced by young people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with concerns around family health, education disruptions, and mental health being top priorities.

YDI Dimensions
Education and Skills
Looks at literacy rate, gross graduation ration from first degree programmes, mean years of schooling, education attainment rate, and digital nativeness.
Health and Well-being
Looks at youth mortality rate, mental disorder, life expectancy, sexually transmissible infection rate, and substance use disorders.
Employment and Opportunity
Looks at youth unemployment rate, youth labour force participation, share of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), financial account and adolescent fertility rate.
Participation and Engagement
Looks at youth volunteer time, national youth policies, voter turnout rates, Internet usage.
Equity and Inclusion
Looks at access to electricity and sanitation, proportion of women in managerial positions, gender parity in literacy, and support for disability
Safety and Security
Looks at child marriage, interpersonal violence, poverty headcount, conflict and terrorism, and disasters.
ASEAN Values and Identity
Uses a composite index on Awareness, Values and Identity

The ASEAN YDI calculates a score for each country between 0 – 1 which indicates the national average, with 0 being the lowest youth development and 1 the highest. It  represents the highest possible level of youth development attainable across all indicators. 

Main Findings of the 2nd YDI Report
Education and Skills
ASEAN saw an improvement in Education and Skills between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.486 to 0.573. Singapore (0.992) ranked 1st in Education and Skills in 2022, with Myanmar (0.171 – 0.371) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022.
Health and Well-being
ASEAN also saw an improvement in Health and Well-being between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.582 to 0.605. Singapore (0.958) ranked 1st in Health and Well-being in 2022, with Myanmar (0.436 – 0.535) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022 in Health and Well-being.
Employment and Opportunity
ASEAN saw an improvement in Employment and Opportunity between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.522 to 0.541. Singapore (0.768) ranked 1st in Employment and Opportunity in 2022, with Indonesia (0.292 – 0.437) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022.
Participation and Engagement
ASEAN saw an improvement in Participation and Engagement between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.447 to 0577. Viet Nam (0.765) ranked 1st in Participation and Engagement in 2022, with Cambodia (0.405 – 0.664) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022.
Equity and Inclusion
ASEAN saw an improvement in Equity and Inclusion between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.455 to 0.606. Brunei Darussalam (0.770) ranked 1st in Equity and Inclusion in 2022, with Lao PDR (0.385 – 0.713) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022.
Safety and Security
ASEAN saw an improvement in Safety and Security between 2013 and 2022, progressing from 0.651 to 0.722. Singapore (1) ranked 1st in Safety and Security in 2022, with the Philippines (0.432 – 0.591) showing the greatest improvement between 2013 and 2022.
ASEAN (2023). ASEAN Youth Development Index 2022. https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/4th-VERSION_22313_ASEAN-YDI-Report_Spreads-LQ_23Jun23.pdf
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