YOUTH TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT - DEMOGRAPHY\\
demographics and the trend for the coming years as a starting point, the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic seeks to reflect on what is being offered and what has yet to be offered to our youth. In 2013, the addition of all 15 cohorts that make up Brazil’s youth (all the individuals born in a given year, i.e., those who are 15, 16, 17, and so on, up to 29 years old) is 51 million young people, which accounts for just over ¼ - or 26% - of the almost 200 million inhabitants of Brazil. This relative size of the youth population brings us very close to both the average and median global percentages (Graph 1). In 2010, 26% of the world’s population was young; in half the countries, the percentage of young people was less than 27%, and in the other half, over 27% of all the population was young. In 70% of the countries, young people account for 20% to 30% of total population.
Graph 1 - Distribution of countries in the world according to percentage of youth: 2010 34 33 32
30%
31
Youth: (percentage of population)
30 29 28 27
MEDIAN = 26,9% BRAZIL
AVERAGE = 25,8%
26 25 24 23 22 21
70% OF COUNTRIES
20%
20 19 18 17 16
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PERCENTAGE OF COUNTRIES Source: Estimates by the SAE/PR on the basis of UN population data and projections.
What are the implications of having such a large population of young people? It is impossible to think about economic and social growth and transformation without taking account of our greatest assets, or recognizing potentials and peculiarities. Investing in the new generations has a positive impact not only on these young people’s present, but also on Brazil’s future. The discussion involves, first and foremost, the relationship between age groups. Being part of a certain group can change drastically depending on whether the figures are analyzed at the absolute or relative level.