Determinants of Youth Development in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan’s youth1 consists one-fifth (25 million) of its population and is one of the most valuable resources for its national growth and prosperity. An educated, skilled, and healthy youth, in other words a developed youth, would most certainly put Pakistan in the course of social and economic enrichment. Hence, it is imperative to determine where Pakistan’s youth stands in terms of development characteristics and indicators. The present study is based on a national survey “Pakistan’s Youth: Transition to Adulthood: Education, Work and Marriage” undertaken in all four provinces by the Population Council in 2001-02, with a sample size of 8,074 youth and 6,812 households in 252 communities. The survey used three comprehensive questionnaires with various modules covering education, work, marriage, fertility, and living conditions of youth, their households and their communities. The survey also covered gender attitudes, norms, mobility, and safe places. The present paper has used the data from the above-mentioned study to work out “Youth Development Index” (YDI). The YDI is a simple summary measurement, as other development indexes, of four dimensions of the youth development concept: educational attainment, employment, recreation and health seeking behaviour. The index has been analysed with other independent variables to ascertain the links of various agents and determinants affecting the development of youth in Pakistan. Then a regression model has been used to finally ascertain the factors that are most significant in a young person’s life.