6 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOUTH
6 INTERESTING
FACTS ABOUT YOUTH
“Youth is
happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability
to see beauty never grows old.”
― Franz Kafka
It is said
that the world’s two most prized gifts are the love of a woman and the beauty
of youth. While we always talk about women, today let’s take this opportunity
to talk about youth. Youth is the most treasured trait that a person can have,
without it a person can be 45 but feel like 85. Youth or young people around
the globe are always treated as not only the “future” of humankind but also
looked upon as the envied lot, as their energy levels are still at their peak.
So let’s
take this time to learn a bit more about them:
1. The
definition varies from country to country.
According to the United Nations, “Youth” are the
people who are of ages 15-24. However different countries have different
definitions. In Nigeria youth are termed to be people between ages 18 and 35.
In India, according to the National Youth Policy 2014, the people aged 15-29
are youth.
2. Number
of youth worldwide is potentially high.
The youth make up for more than 1.1 billion people,
which is the nearly the population of India. The number of young people along
with children make up 40% of the world’s population as of 2015.
All the developing countries contain most of the
world’s youth. India as of November 2014 contains 356 million people between
the ages 10-24 years, about 28% of India’s population. China comes in second
with 269 million, followed by Indonesia and US respectively.
3. Youth
are not being commemorated only on 12th August
While 12th August is International Youth
Day, the youth are celebrated in different parts of the world on other days as
well. Renowned Indian monk, Swami Vivekanda’s birthday (12th
January) is celebrated as National Youth Day. Children’s Day is celebrated on
14th November in India.
In Singapore, Youth Day is celebrated on 2nd
July. World Youth Day, held every 2-3 years will be held next at Panama city in
2019.
4. Most
of today’s unemployed people are Youth
In the world of today, unemployment is the one of the
main issues that plague us. However did you know that the main section of
society affected by this are the youth?
South Africa ranks on top as having the highest
percentage of unemployed youth.
The causes of this include the mismatch in skills and
effect of the digital divide.
5. More
than 35% of homeless youth are under 24
According to known statistics, more than 35% of youth
found around the globe are homeless. Nearly 80% decide to use alcohol and drugs
as a form of self-medication.
Studies show that over 50% of the world’s population
of homeless youth have been told by their parents to leave. About 40% of these
youths are sexually abused every year. On the streets nobody cares about them. Over 60% of them experience physical violence while trying to fend for themselves.
6. Being
Young is NOT Enough Anymore
Being young and being youthful are not the same thing
but none of them is enough. Some companies do not want to keep the new youth,
they want their own veterans, who are more experienced. Acceptability in
employment is competitive with the rise in competition (rise in number of youth)
by the passing day. The simultaneous increase in poverty and number of homeless
youths with the increase in population adds salt to the fire.
The Youth are the building blocks, and the foundation
of our society. No matter who it is and how much they have gained over the
years, everyone wants to go back to their youth when they found it easier to do
things, and had more basic worries. They need to be cared for more as a part of
the change.
We should take it upon ourselves to treasure our
youth. J
By: Aritro Ghosh
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