Youth in the Commonwealth of Independent States: a statistical portrait

Statistical abstract «Youth in the Commonwealth of Independent States: A Statistical Portrait» was published in 2014 within a joint initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS-Stat). National statistical services of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and independent experts in statistics were directly involved into the process of development of the abstract. The publication reflects targets for the World Programme of Action for Youth, the Millennium Development Goals and the Programme of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, as well as youth programmes implemented in the CIS countries. Analysis of statistical data included into the Abstract identified several key problems of life of young people living in the Commonwealth region. Low income levels, insufficient housing per capita, and a higher risk of poverty among young families with children are factors impacting the living conditions of youth and young families in the CIS member countries. Over the past two decades, the CIS has seen major demographical changes that have led to greater variations in the composition and dynamics of statistical indicators in its member countries. The global population ageing trend, characteristic of most countries around the world, is present in all CIS member countries. Statistics clearly demonstrates that youth in the Commonwealth countries face an added risk of mortality from external causes. Health statistics demonstrated that early prevention of morbidity and premature deaths among youth should become priorities of CIS youth policy, and reproductive health, including indicators such as high adolescent pregnancy and abortion rates, maternal mortality, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV, should be placed into the centre of youth policy. The rate of secondary education enrolment has remained high throughout the CIS economic reforms, while the youth literacy rate (for people aged 15-24) is nearly 100 percent. At the same time in many countries there has been a decrease in the number of graduates from initial vocational schools. This has contributed to a mismatch between the needs of national economies for such specialists and the actual shortage of trained production workers. The highest unemployment rates in the CIS are found among youth. In the coming years, some countries will see a decrease in their working-age population while others experience a large influx of working-age youth, thus producing an excess supply in the labour market. Labour migration can act as a stabilizing force that helps combat poverty, as well as a flexible instrument for integrating CIS countries into the international migration system and for forming international labour market. Host countries face acute challenges, however, with the social integration of migrant populations. Statistics is an essential tool for substantiating, designing youth programmes at the global, regional, and national levels, and monitoring their implementation. The availability of most comprehensive statistical information allows it to formulate specific goals, expected results, determine the resources required to implement youth programmes and evaluate their effectiveness. Meanwhile, in the process of developing the statistical abstract were identified gaps in the youth statistics, proving that there is still much to be done to improve youth statistics in the CIS region.

СНГ, старение населения, молодежь, демографические характеристики молодежи, показатели здоровья молодежи, показатели экономической активности, благосостояния и условий жизни молодежи, социальная интеграция молодых мигрантов, CIS, aging of the population, youth, demographic profile of youth, youth health indicators, indicators of economic activity, welfare and living conditions of youth, social integration of young migrants

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