PERSPECTIVES
ment, uncertainty, and low
wages characterized by the
informal sector, the International Labor Office (ILO)
found that 23 percent of
working youth live on USD
1 a day or less, making them
extremely poor.
Developing countries
face the biggest burden in
the youth unemployment
crisis. Often characterized
by weak economies, inequality, and poverty, these
countries are unable to create enough jobs for the exploding youth population.
Although accurate data on
youth unemployment rates
in Africa are difficult to
come by, the ILO estimates
that over half of Africa’s
Somali youths relax at a beach facing the Indian Ocean in the capital Mogadishu. Young
youth are unemployed,
people fill Mogadishu’s beaches every day of the week, as they face poverty, unemployment,
underemployed, or inacand limited economic opportunity.
tive. In Sierra Leone, for
opportunities to raise themselves out of poverty are more
example, UNICEF has
vulnerable than adults to participation in armed violence,
found that only nine percent of the working population is
crime, gangs, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities.
employed in the formal sector, with the youth population
This issue is exacerbated by uncontrolled and rapid urbancontributing significantly less. These informal sector jobs are
ization, which concentrates the most at-risk demographic
often with small, family-owned, low-productivity businesses
group into urban enclaves of poverty, unemployment, and
that are unable to provide subsistence level wages, such as
disenfranchisement. As might be expected, the increase of
stalls found in outdoor markets. In Luanda, Angola, for
youth in these environments has led to an increase in conexample, the average age of those working in these markets
flict, instability, and violence in the developing world. It is
is 21. With increasing urbanization and the youth movebecoming increasingly clear that rapid urban growth without
ment into cities, these types of informal economies are far
an increase in job opportunities for youth increases the risk
too small and unstable to meet their needs. Most youth will
of political and social turbulence.
find themselves underemployed.
For instance, the risk of political violence has doubled
The rapidly growing unemployed youth population
in countries with high rates of urbanization and low levels
has also resulted in an explosion of urban slums around
of GDP per capita according to the Woodrow Wilson Inthe world. Newly arrived youth end up living in slums and
ternational Center for Scholars. Instability and conflict in
informal settlements on the peripheries of cities. According
less developed countries have been linked with expanding
to UNICEF, of the world’s one billion slum dwellers, over
youth populations, particularly among youth who have had
70 percent are under the age of 30. According to the United
limited economic opportunities.
Population Fund’s State of The World Population report,
According to a report titled “The Security Demograph72 and almost 60 percent of urban residents in sub-Saharan
ic” by Population Action International, which examined
Africa and South-Central Asia respectively live in slums.
post-cold war civil conflicts around the world, a country
The youth living in these slums have limited access to
with more than 40 percent of its population aged between
education, social services, and health care and are subjected
15 and 29 was 2.3 times more likely to face civil strife than
to undignified work and living conditions. In light of the
one with lower youth proportions. The severity and length
exploding population growth in urban centers, the concenof conflict is also demonstrated to be greater.
tration of youth living in poverty in the peripheries of cities
The lives of many of this generation’s urban youth will
is expected to increase dramatically in scale.
be characterized by uncertainty and violence, especially
in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin
Instability and Violence
America, and South East Asia. Particularly, young people
Globally, rapid urbanization and the social and ecobetween the ages of 15 and 30 are disproportionately afnomic exclusion of youth have had serious social ramificafected by and perpetuate violence and crime in cities.The
tions. Disaffected young people who lack the economic
Photo Courtesy Reuters
Summer 2014 • H A R V A R D I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E V I E W
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