The World Youth Report (WYR) is a flagship publication of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD). The Report addresses youth development issues around the world.
World Youth Reports
2020: Youth Social Entrepreneurship and the 2030 Agenda The Report seeks to contribute to the understanding of how youth social entrepreneurship can both support youth development and help accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. To do so, the Report first synthesizes the current discussion on social entrepreneurship and anchors it in the context of the 2030 Agenda. Chapter 2 of the Report then turns toward the situation of youth and examines weather youth social entrepreneurship can offer not only employment opportunities, but also support other elements of youth development such as youth participation. In the third chapter, the Report assesses the potential and the challenges of youth social entrepreneurship as a tool supporting the 2030 Agenda and youth development in its broadest sense. Finally, chapter 4 first examines how new technologies can be leveraged to address some challenges faced by young social entrepreneurs as well as further support youth social entrepreneurship in its efforts to advance sustainable development. This last chapter finally offers policy guidance to build enabling, responsive and sustainable national ecosystems for young social entrepreneurs. Download the Full Report.
2018: Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The Report examines the mutually supportive roles of the new agenda and current youth development efforts. The report provides insight into the role of young people in sustainable development in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and related frameworks, in particular, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Programme of Action for Youth. The Report considers the role the 2030 Agenda can play in enhancing youth development efforts and examines how evidence-based youth policies can help accelerate youth-related objectives. It explores the critical role young people have in the implementation of sustainable development efforts at all levels. Download the Full Report.
2015: Youth Civic Engagement The Report explores young people’s participation in economic, political and community life, in response to growing interest in, and an increased policy focus on, youth civic engagement among governments, young people and researchers. Download the Full Report.
2013: Youth and Migration The Report offers a broad understanding of the situation of young migrants from the perspective of young migrants themselves. The report highlights some of the concerns, challenges and successes experienced by young migrants based on their own lives and told in their own voices. Download the Full Report.
2011: Youth Employment: Youth Perspectives on the Pursuit of Decent Work in Changing Times The Report explores the transition of young people from schools and training institutions into the labour market, a phase marking a critical period in the life cycle. Download the Full Report.
2010: The Youth and Climate Change The Report focus on youth and climate change, and is intended to highlight the important role young people play in addressing climate change, and to offer suggestions on how young people might be more effectively integrated as individuals and collective agents of change within the realm of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Download the Full Report.
2007: Young People’s Transition to Adulthood: Progress and Challenges The Report examines the challenges and opportunities existing for the roughly 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world. Distinct from the 2003 and 2005 editions, it provides a regional overview summarizing the major youth development trends in the fifteen priority areas of the World Programme of Action for Youth. Download the Full Report.
2005: Young people today, and in 2015 The Report called for a renewed commitment to the goals of the World Programme of Action, since over 200 million youth were living in poverty, 130 million youth were illiterate, 88 million were unemployed and 10 million young people were living with HIV/AIDS. Download the Full Report.
2003: The global situation of young people The Report provides an overview of the global situation of young people. The first 10 chapters focus on the priority areas identified by the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), adopted by the General Assembly in 1995. The remaining five chapters address some of the newer issues that were later identified as additional priorities for youth and were adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2003. Download the Full Report.