Wonder where in the world can you find the happiest young people? I do. You know why? The countries where they reside are the ones with the greatest chance of becoming progressive and peaceful. That’s based from an info supplied by a joint project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the International Youth Foundation, and Hilton Worldwide. The three institutions tried to assess how the youth are doing in 30 countries. Here’s a picture of the study below:

In connection to this project, policies geared towards upgrading public health and well-being across the globe usually focus on adults and infants alone. The people in the middle is always left out. This is the reason I’m super glad to show you the info presented here. It focuses on the youth for a change. (And so long to come by.)

Take note, though, the countries mentioned here are not the top 30 in the world; they are the nations picked and looked at by the researchers. The list also includes 70% of the youth worldwide. Let’s look at Nigeria, as an example; it came in last, and not the 30th among the countries in the world as shown in the chart featured here.

Since, we have an invaluable information about the age bracket 12 to 24 years old, it’s pertinent to reiterate that the well-being of this particular group should be on top of our heads. Because the report clearly states, “Youth-inclusive societies are more likely to grow and prosper,” “while the risks of exclusion include stunted growth, crime, and unrest.” In simpler terms, if the youth are happy, the society naturally grows and prospers.

There are glaring surprises in the chart: Vietnam, even if classified as lower-middle income, it’s included in the top fifteen. You would also appreciate to know that it’s the only country belonging to the lower-middle income that’s part of the top countries in the list.

Russia is part of the high-income group, but fails to make it to the top 10. Part of the surprise is that the top 9 spots are dominated by the nine-richest countries in the list — except Russia.

Here’s what the rankings look like as indicated by color codes. (Green is best, tan is middle, red is worst):

Lastly, the researchers based their results on 40 indicators. These indicators helped them assess “health, citizen participation, education, economic opportunity, information and communications technology (ICT), and safety and security” among the youth all over the globe. 

Featured photo credit: Happy Youth/barnigomez via Compfight cc via compfight.com