SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Asia-Pacific is
home to 1.7 billion
young people under
the age of 25
HOME TO MORE THAN
HALF THE WORLD’S
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Globally, the number of people below the age
of 25 increased from 1.33 billion in 1950 to
3.11 billion in 2015 (Figure 3.1), but the rate
of expansion has declined since 1990. By 2050,
the number will increase to only about 3.4 billion.
Young people’s share of total population
rose from 53 percent in 1950 to 56 percent in
1975, slipping since to 42 percent in 2015. It is
projected to decline further to 35 percent by
2050 (Figure 3.2).
Asia-Pacific today has 1.7 billion young
people under age 25, with 990 million children
under age 15, and 670 million youth aged 15-24.
More than half the young people alive in the
world can be found in the region. Its share of
young people within its own population, however,
is lower than all other developing regions,
at 40 percent, and will likely drop to 30 percent
by 2050. By 2065, since Africa’s fertility rates
will likely remain high, the number of young
people there will exceed that of Asia-Pacific for
the first time in recent history.
The number of young people has declined in
Asia-Pacific since 2005. In East Asia, it has fallen
since 1990, starting as early as 1955 in Japan and
1985 in the Republic of Korea. Decreases have
been well underway in the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Myanmar and Viet Nam since 2000, and
Bangladesh and Malaysia since 2010. South
Asia will reach its peak of young people around
2025, so prioritizing the needs of children and
youth are of foremost importance. Oceania is
still relatively young, with positive growth of
the young population projected to about 2050.
The share of young people in Asia-Pacific
reached a peak of 59 percent in the early 1970s,
before beginning a descent to 40 percent in 2015.
Shares vary by subregion, from 48 percent in
South Asia to 30 percent in East Asia, with the
latter expected to fall to 23 percent by 2050. 4
It will then rank lowest among the world’s
regions, including Europe and North America.
All Asia-Pacific subregions will be below the
world average of 35 percent by 2050, a major
policy concern, indicating a shrinking pool of
workers and an ageing population (Figure 3.2).
In nine countries or territories, young people
are currently less than a third of the total population—Australia;
China; Hong Kong, China
(SAR); Japan; Macau, China (SAR); Republic of
Korea; Singapore; Taiwan Province of China and
Thailand. For 14 other countries, the share tops
50 percent—Afghanistan, Cambodia, Federated
States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua
New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu. The
second group are on the cusp of the demographic
BOX 3.1:
Who are the young?
There is no universal definition of the ‘young’ or
‘youth’, as these terms usually refer to a more fluid
category than a fixed age group. A young population
is commonly defined as one with a relatively high
proportion of children, adolescents and young
adults. Youth is usually understood as the period
between the age of leaving compulsory education
and finding first employment. Different countries
and organizations, however, assign diverse meanings
to these concepts.
The United Nations defines ‘youth’ as persons between
15 and 24 years of age. Several Asia-Pacific
countries have alternative definitions—India, for
example, in its 2014 National Youth Policy, defines
youth as those between 15 and 29 years of age.
Since varying terms make it difficult to effectively
discuss challenges and opportunities related to
youth across countries, this report generally adopts
the United Nations definition of young people as
those comprising ages 0 to 24. They fall in two
sub-groups: namely, children aged 0 to 14 and
youth aged 15 to 24.
82
Source: UNESCO 1985.