Our youths are a time bomb

There are more people between the ages of 10 and 24 alive today than in history, which could lead to growing civil unrest or economic growth.

The UN Population Fund report, The Power of 18 Billion,released yesterday, notes that countries with high levels of young people have higher murder rates, more protest action and lower life expectancy than populations with a smaller percentage of young people.

It warns of the risks of unprecedented numbers of people needing education and work. But it has a positive spin.

"Never before have there been so many young people. Never again is there likely to be such potential for economic and social progress."

The report argues it is up to governments to ensure young people become a labour force rather than a source of conflict.

The correlation of young people and civil conflict "is not proof of causality but it does suggest . societies must make greater effort to increase opportunities for education, jobs and political engagement".

In South Africa, 27% (14.6 million) of the population is between the ages of 10 and 24.

The report offers advice to mitigate the potential ticking time bomb of disaffected youth.

It draws on research to show that young people need easy access to small amounts of credit for small businesses.

Adolescent girls need access to health services and contraception.

It argues that many countries pay lip service to the idea of providing teenagers with contraception and healthcare but it does not happen on the ground.

The more young people in a country, the higher the rate of teenage pregnancy.

The SA Institute of Race Relations Mienke Steytler said the institute thought there might be a correlation in South Africa with rising crime rates and growing youth unemployment.

She said in South Africa 2.575 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 were not at school, university or work.

The unemployment rate of young people, including those not looking for work, is 67.2%.

"If policy reforms are made in education to allow for better skills development ... then women will be able to free themselves not only from unemployment but from being financially dependent on men and this has a knock-on effect regarding dependency and the abuse of women and children," Steytler said.