Despite making up a growing share of the global population, young people remain excluded from political and economic decision-making. The Global Youth Participation Index – GYPI – offers the first comprehensive, data-driven effort to assess how youth engage across four key dimensions: Political Affairs, Elections, Socio-Economic dimension and Civic Space.
Covering over 130 countries, the average youth participation score sits at 60/100, underlining a global participation gap. Norway tops the list with a score of 84/100, followed by New Zealand (83).
The lowest performing areas are youth participation in political affairs (50) and in elections (51), which highlights the global trend of youth being often excluded from formal and direct forms of policy-making. Significantly, the Civic Space dimension scores higher, with an average of 61/100. This points to the growing pattern of youth engagement with civil society and movements. However, due to the ongoing shrinking space and pressure on civil society in numerous countries worldwide, the opportunities for civic participation are becoming increasingly limited, which has an immense impact on youth participation. Socio-Economic dimension scores the highest (76) globally, but global disparity is evident between countries.
Some of the trends:
- South Africa leads the ranking in Africa, whereas Somalia is last.
- Japan tops Asia’s board, with Afghanistan the lowest.
- Germany scores the highest in Europe, with Russia and Belarus the lowest.
- In North America, Canada leads, while in South America, Argentina takes the top spot. Venezuela and Cuba are among the lowest-ranking countries.
- New Zealand leads the board among Pacific and Oceania, with Papua New Guinea scoring the lowest.
The GYPI isn’t just a ranking, it’s a wake-up call and a roadmap to unlock the full potential of half of the world’s population for shaping just and inclusive democratic societies. As long as young people are under-represented, democracy remains incomplete. Learn more and explore the data soon here: https://gypi.epd.eu/