The Commonwealth Youth Development Index

The Commonwealth has been pioneering in its approach to youth development and the social and economic inclusion of young people. We have long attached the greatest importance to programmes for youth and the professionalisation of youth work. The current demographic profile of the Commonwealth, with a significant youth bulge in most member countires, makes it more vital than ever that we engage in practical action that matches the sense of urgency and impatience for change being expressed by younger generations. The Commonwealth Youth Development Index (YDI) is the first attempt to aggregate global youth-specific data, and I commend the technical committee for its excellent work in devising a tool that is capable of being used to practical affect within the diverse global context of the Commonwealth. As well as establishing a monitoring framework, YDI will act as an incentive for member countries to collect youth-specific data as they see their achievements and needs ranked globally and regionally. It sets a baseline, and is sufficiently flexible and adaptable to allow continuing development with the addition of new metrics as data becomes available. You can download:

• the Youth Development Index Results Report
• the Youth Development Index Methodology Report
• the Youth Development Index Data Set