‘Young’ India ranks poorly at 133 in Commonwealth Youth Index: Reports

India ranked 133rd in the index covering 183 nations, below neighbouring countries like Nepal (77), Bhutan (69) and Sri Lanka (31) and trailing behind the South Asian average. However, the report released last week found that it has registered an 11 per cent improvement in scores over the last five years, highlighting the need for greater investment to reap the so-called demographic dividend. “One in five young people in the world today live in India, which makes it one of the most youthful countries on the planet,” said Abhik Sen, the lead author of the ‘2016 Global Youth Development Index’ report. 

“While India’s overall rank is relatively low, it has registered an impressive improvement of nearly 11 per cent in its youth development scores in the period between 2010 and 2015. The research for this report also shows that youth development levels in India lag particularly in the domains of health, education and employment.” he said. The report highlights that India accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the global youth population, with nearly 345 million young people between the ages of 15 and 30 living in the country. The areas where improvements are called for include education, employment opportunity and health and wellbeing.