International Youth Foundation

The Global Youth Wellbeing Index details the performance and provides comparative analysis of 30 countries in terms of overall youth wellbeing and within six domains. The Index is designed to facilitate both thought and action by elevating youth needs and opportunities and young people’s participation on national and global agendas. It also provides public and private sector decision-makers an easier way to understand the big picture, guide actions and investments, and drive progress over time.   Wellbeing is a multidimensional concept that includes a person’s physical and mental health, educational status, economic position, physical safety, access to freedoms, and ability to participate in civic life, all components have again multiple aspects. It is, in a sense, the abundance or scarcity of opportunities available to an individual. The definition of wellbeing and the indicators selected to create a picture of wellbeing draw upon the body of work measuring quality of life and economic and social progress as well as the discipline of positive youth development, which is a framework that builds on young people’s assets while still addressing their deficits. Scores for countries are on a scale of 0 to 1, and ranks are assigned based on the numeric scores from highest to lowest.