{"id":141179,"date":"2016-10-29T19:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=141179"},"modified":"2016-10-28T17:55:39","modified_gmt":"2016-10-28T15:55:39","slug":"the-best-and-worst-countries-for-young-people-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/141179\/the-best-and-worst-countries-for-young-people-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The best and worst countries for young people in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

While South Africa remains a country with bleak prospects for its youth – things have shown significant improvement over the past 5 years, the latest Global Youth Development Index<\/a><\/strong> (YDI) shows.<\/p>\n

Across the world, young people are being negatively affected by the slowing global economy, which is making access to jobs, education and healthcare increasingly more difficult – particularly in emerging economies.<\/p>\n

The world has a youth population of an estimated 1.8 billion people – 90% of which live in developing nations, where they make up almost a third of the population.<\/p>\n

The YDI, compiled by The Commonwealth Secretariat, measures the progress and development of youth (aged 15 – 29) across the globe, looking at 18 indicators across five categories, including health, opportunity and social engagement.<\/p>\n

Reflecting the divisions between the developed and developing world, the top spots on the index are dominated by European nations, with strong economies and access to quality healthcare and education.<\/p>\n

Germany is ranked as the best country in the world for youth, followed by Denmark, Australia, Switzerland and the UK. At the bottom of the pile, however, you find may African and Sub-Saharan African nations, with Central African Republic ranked as the worst place for youth, below Chad, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger.<\/p>\n

Overall, South Africa ranked 126th out of 183 countries on the index, tying with nations such as Palestine, Algeria and Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n

Best and worst countries for youth<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nCountry<\/th>\nScore<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nGermany<\/td>\n0.894<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nDenmark<\/td>\n0.865<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nAustralia<\/td>\n0.838<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nSwitzerland<\/td>\n0.837<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nUnited Kingdom<\/td>\n0.837<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nNetherlands<\/td>\n0.836<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nAustria<\/td>\n0.826<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nLuxembourg<\/td>\n0.825<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nPortugal<\/td>\n0.816<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nJapan<\/td>\n0.815<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
126<\/td>\nSouth Africa<\/td>\n0.560<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
174<\/td>\nMali<\/td>\n0.421<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
175<\/td>\nDemocratic Republic of the Congo<\/td>\n0.408<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
176<\/td>\nZambia<\/td>\n0.406<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
177<\/td>\nMozambique<\/td>\n0.392<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
178<\/td>\nGuinea-Bissau<\/td>\n0.389<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
179<\/td>\nEquatorial Guinea<\/td>\n0.384<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
180<\/td>\nNiger<\/td>\n0.378<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
181<\/td>\nCote d’Ivoire<\/td>\n0.357<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
182<\/td>\nChad<\/td>\n0.312<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
183<\/td>\nCentral African Republic<\/td>\n0.308<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

South Africa’s performance in the index is detailed below (ranked out of 183):<\/p>\n