Of 183 countries, Pakistan has recorded the largest decline in its overall youth development score by 18 per cent between 2010 and 2015, according to the Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016.


Ranking a dismal 154 among 183 countries, Pakistan performed even worse than war-torn and terrorism-plagued Syria which stood at 137. Compared to its neighbours, Pakistan lagged behind India (133) and Bangladesh (147) but performed better than Afghanistan at 167.

The decline has been brought about by a dramatic fall in the country’s scores in the domains of civic participation (58 per cent) and political participation (69 per cent). In particular, Pakistan’s lack of a youth policy – which is the primary indicator for the domain of political participation – has driven the fall in its score.

The Commonwealth Youth Development Index uncovered a fascinating picture of the prospects of youth in the said countries. It measured opportunities for the youth in terms of civic participation, education, employment, health and well-being and political participation.



Pakistan’s low score was explained by its performance in the areas of education, financial inclusion and political participation. The country scored below the South Asian average in all domains of the YDI except health and well-being.



Education


Except Afghanistan, all other South Asian countries have better scores than Pakistan in the domain of education. The report pointed out that only 42 per cent of children in Pakistan are enrolled in secondary schools. Similarly, the youth literacy rate in Pakistan is approximately 76 per cent.

Financial inclusion
The report suggested that only six per cent of youth in Pakistan have an account at a formal financial institution. The South Asia and global figures for the same indicator are 31 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.



Germany topped the list with a score of 0.894, followed by Denmark and Australia. While the United Kingdom secured the fourth spot, United States performed way below at 24, lagging behind countries such as Costa Rica, Malta, Slovenia and Luxembourg.

On August 19, a report by the Population Council said the prevalent scenario of standalone policies for youth with minimal integration and poor linkages across sectors does not provide a framework for coordinated efforts.

As a result, stakeholders need to work in synergy to secure pathways for the betterment of the youth.It also suggested forming a task force to develop intersectional thinking to launch scaled-up initiatives and initiate discourse between the public and private sectors.