The UN World Population Report 2007 includes a special segment on the implications regarding youth population and profiles of youth in various parts of the world.
In 2008, for the first time, more than half of the world’s population will live in urban
areas. By 2030, towns and cities will be home to almost 5 billion people. The urban population of Africa and Asia will double in less than a generation.
This will greatly increase the number and proportion of young people in the urban
population. Most will be born into poor families, where fertility tends to be higher.
The wave of urban population growth calls for policymakers to consult young people and reflect on their needs, both to realize individual potential and to stimulate urban economies. The challenges will include increasing the number and quality of schools; attracting new investments to create jobs and economic vitality; and providing health services, including sexual and reproductive health, so that young people can live fulfilling lives and make their own decisions on marriage and family formation.
The Youth Supplement profiles the lives of young men and women from seven cities
“ Tianjin, China; San Salvador, El Salvador; Mumbai, India; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Cairo,
Egypt; Rufisque, Senegal; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Their stories give a sense of the lives of young women and men and the opportunities, pressures, and risks of modern urban living: as migrants who have left the countryside to work and make their home in the cities; as community organizers fighting for better housing and services in the margins of cities; as victims of sexual abuse and violence; sometimes even as perpetrators of violence themselves; as young women freed from traditional gender roles and discrimination; and as urbanites involved in music and culture to escape from urban poverty and insecurity, and to celebrate their lives.
Tags: Youth
