There is a critical need to focus on making progress on development for the over 1.8 billion young people in the world. The global Youth Development Index (YDI) and Report – a gift from the Commonwealth to the world – is a tool which helps us to monitor changes in the situation of young people; recognise their contributions to the world; and support them as we all pursue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through this website you will be able to explore the scores that 181 countries have received on the 2020 YDI based on progress made for youth 15 – 29 years old in 6 areas: education, employment and opportunity, health and well-being, equality and inclusion, political and civic participation and peace and security.

The YDI score is a number between 0 and 1, with a score of 1 representing the highest level of youth development. Countries have been grouped into categories of “very high”, “high”, “medium” and “low” levels of youth development. This categorisation reflects the position of a country on a spectrum ranging from “relatively good” to “relatively poor”. The scoring system is the same as the one that underpins the Human Development Index. The 2020 YDI categories by score are:

Level of Youth Development Score Range
Low 0.000–0.595
Medium 0.595–0.691
High 0.691–0.78
Very high 0.78–1.000

The YDI supporters

The 2020 YDI was updated by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and supported by our partners the United Nations Population Division, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, International Labour Organization (ILO), World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank. We thank the Commonwealth Youth Council, the African Union and representatives from governments, and research institutions who provided validation through the YDI Technical Group of Experts.

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Download the Youth Development Index

2020 Global Youth Development Index Report