Youth make up about 19% of the region’s total population.

• Over 60% of the world’s youth live in Asia-Pacific. This translates into more than 750 million young women and men aged 15 to 24 years.

• Significant strides have been made with respect to educational attainment. The region is on track to meet MDG 2 on universal primary education. Net enrolment in secondary education has also been steadily increasing and is now at 64.1%, slightly above the world average of 62.5%.

• Transition to the labour market remains a major challenge as youth unemployment is more than double the rate of the total working age population. The proportion of adolescent and youth migrants in the total international migrant population is 19% in Asia and 13% in the Pacific, most of them are women.

• Gender inequalities have been reduced at all education levels, primary, secondary and tertiary, with the exception of some countries. Young women, however, are underrepresented in the labour market, and are thus an untapped resource for future economic growth and development.

• Rates of adolescent childbearing have dropped significantly in most countries of Asia and the Pacific in the past two to three decades, but they still remain high.
This Fact Sheet was prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). This is part of a collaborative effort of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, coordinated by the Focal Point on Youth, UNDESA