Vulnerable Groups Series I: The Social Profile of the Youth, 2009‐2014

The Vulnerable Groups Series I: The Social Profile of the Youth, 2009‐2014 "report reveals that the youth population grew from 18,5 million to 19,6 million between 2009 and 2014, and constitutes around 36% to the total population. Even though the number of youth increased faster than the general population in most provinces, their overall national growth rate was lower than that of the population as a whole. This was mainly due to lower population growth amongst youth in the most populous provinces, namely Western Cape and Gauteng. This is important, as not only do they represent the future, but also the demographic dividend, as a well‐educated and healthy youth population could potentially propel the economy and the country onto a new growth trajectory. However, the question needs to be asked: where are we now? The purpose of this report is to provide a general picture of a wide spectrum of demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of the youth. As you will see, the analyses in this report highlight areas of success, as well as challenges that perhaps require different and/or more effective interventions. As is the case in the population as a whole, urbanisation and migration have resulted in an influx of young people into provinces such as Gauteng, Western Cape, North West and Mpumalanga (Chapter 3). The report therefore recommends that, in order to better meet the needs of youth based in rural areas, youth‐related policy development and implementation should form part of rural development interventions."