THE TIMES KUWAIT REPORT
Efforts by the government over the years to foster social, political, and economic progress of youth in the country and to encourage their active participation in national development, have led to positive results in recent years. More and more young Kuwaiti nationals are now making a name for themselves in various fields, and burnishing the country’s image with their participation in international forums, and their performance in global competitions. Youth in Kuwait represents the country’s hope for a brighter more sustainable future.
Further proof that government initiatives in supporting and promoting youth have begun to bear fruit, came last week with the release of the latest Global Youth Index (GYI), a triennial ranking on the state of youth in 183 countries worldwide, compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat — the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. The report showed Kuwait ranking highly in the index for 2021.
A global rank of 27 in the GYI, ensured Kuwait appeared in the top quartile of the global ranking, and the ranking was also, for a welcome change, the highest among countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc. The index, which measures developments in youth education, employment, health, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation, revealed that Kuwait scored an overall 0.814 points. on a scale graded from 0 to 1. In total, the index examined 27 indicators, including literacy and voting to highlight the milieu shaping young people around the world.
The index revealed significant advances around the world in youth’s participation in most of the parameters used to measure their development, including in peace processes and their education, employment, inclusion and health care. However, political and civic participation was the only area to record a decline in most parts of the world, with 102 countries recording a decrease in participation. Surprisingly, this was one area where Kuwait did exceedingly well, scoring highest among its peers in the GCC. Apparently, Kuwait’s relatively liberal political atmosphere is proving conducive to youth’s participation in the country’s political and civic space.
Unlike many other global rankings, the GCC as a whole did exceedingly well in the GYI, with all six countries included among the most developed countries for youth.
Qatar in 32nd position globally came in second place in GCC with a score of 0.802, followed by Bahrain placed 47th globally, scoring 0.779. Oman in 52nd spot received a score of 0.769, the UAE in 56th spot notched 0.763, and Saudi Arabia in 57th rank scored 0.760. Singapore ranked on the top of the table with an overall score of 0.875. Globally, Sweden topped in education, Luxembourg on equality and inclusion, Indonesia on political and civic participation, while Singapore topped in the employment, health, and peace and security domains.
Speaking on Kuwait’s relatively high ranking in the youth index, Director-General of the Public Authority for Youth (PAY), Mishaal Ahmed Al Shaheen Al Rabie, said this achievement was the result of continuous efforts over two years, eversince the authority was first assigned by the Council of Ministers in 2019 to implement the National Youth Policy in coordination with the Supreme Council for Planning and Development. He pointed out that several meetings and workshops have been held with the United Nations Representative for Youth, the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to develop frameworks and executive programs to support the development of youth.
He explained that these programs are tailored to achieve the UN sustainable development goals through measures designed to improve performance indicators related to youth development, empower young women in entrepreneurship, enhance digital skills among young people, qualify young women to engage in the labor market, provide children with life skills, and promote mental health in children.
The Public Authority for Youth (PAY), established in 2015. has since its inception been at the forefront in advancing youth agendas and in promoting the positive and effective role of youth in the development and prosperity of Kuwait. The Authority has been tasked to focus on empowering youth by providing them with opportunities, services and support for their growth and development, as well as building capabilities, encouraging innovation and creativity, and nurturing leadership skills in youth.
In addition, the Authority is also charged with Increasing the spaces for growth and development of youth and their ability to compete positively. And, ensuring social cohesion by bringing young people together in various spheres, including in voluntary work, so as to instill in them at an early age that what unites them is more than what divides them; and, that respecting and valuing each individual in society contributes towards greater integration, solidarity and preservation of national unity.
The overall aim of PAY is to increase the positive impact and benefits youth are able to add towards building a better future for the country and to strengthen their capacities so as to contribute effectively to the economic and social development of Kuwait. For an organization that was conceived just six years ago, these mandates are no doubt a tall order to fulfill in a short time. Yet, it is to the credit of the authority, and an attestation to the dedication and determination of the leadership and management, that they have been able to achieve so much in a relatively short period, and to successfully drive the youth agenda to where it is today.
In Kuwait, the youth cohort, constituting those in the age group of 15 to 29, form a large chunk of the country’s population and play an important and integral role in the advancement of society, as well as in confronting present challenges and realizing the nation’s future potential. This was in particular made distinctly visible during the past year and half when the country was buffeted by the COVID-19 crisis. During the pandemic, the national youth cadre were found to be stepping outside their normal comfort zones and exceeding expectations by providing vital support to the authorities in various fields, including in health, food supplies, education and environment.
Many youth groups formed online, and in-person, to launch initiatives aimed at ameliorating the suffering of the less privileged in society, especially among the large migrant community in the country. Besides delivering support and food to migrant workers and needy families, local youth groups also constituted the majority of volunteers who worked round-the-clock during the pandemic to lend a helping hand in efforts to contain and curtail the spread of infections, and to set an example by adhering to health and safety guidelines issued by authorities.
In a further indication of the importance that the government attaches to involving the youth cohort in national development, the government instituted an annual ‘Kuwait Youth Excellence and Creativity Award, to acknowledge the exceptionally talented youngsters in the country. Last week, while honoring this year’s awardees, Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs Abdurrahman Al-Mutairi said, the winners represented a bevy of astute entrepreneurs who have translated their ambition into success stories, and made the country proud.
He added that the annual awards that allow youth to display their innovative and creative skills is part of the government’s ongoing initiatives aimed at connecting and engaging with youth of the country. It is indeed commendable that, whatever its shortcomings in other areas, the government has provided youth in the country with opportunities for growth and development that are often inaccessible to their counterparts in many other parts of the world.
Though there is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group, there is universal consensus that this population cohort remains today the best hope for a sustainable future. The discrepancy in this group’s definition is evident, among others, in the GYI compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat, which classifies those between the ages of 15 and 29 as youth. On the other hand, the United Nations defines ‘youth’, for all its statistical purposes, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Based on these different definitions there is a wide variance in the total youth cohort measured in various statistical analyses.
For instance, based on their respective definitions of youth, the Commonwealth Secretariat estimates that youth form 23 percent of the current global population of approximately 7.7 billion, while the UN estimates this cohort to form only 15.5 percent. Irrespective of the lack of clarity on their distinction, there is no denying that the large youth cohort of the global population will have a critical impact on employment, on resources, and in determining whether they become a dividend or liability in future for their countries
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the current demographic profile of Kuwait shows a dependency ratio — a measure of the number of people aged zero to 14 and over the age of 65 (dependent population), in relation to the total population aged 15 to 64 (working-age population) — at 32.1 percent. This ratio is projected to increase in three decades to 48.7 percent by 2050, thereby impacting, among other things, the efficient delivery of various services to the public.
The UN figures show that in 2020, among the total population of 4,302,875 people, around 21.3 percent were under the age of 15; 75.9 percent were between the ages of 15 and 64; and just 2.9 percent of the population was 65 and older. By 2050, the demographics is expected to shift dramatically, with those under the age of 15 falling to 17.1 percent; those in the age group of 15 to 64 declining to 67.2 percent; and those 65 and older rising to 15.7 percent of the total projected population of 5,643,352. Accordingly, the dependent population is projected to rise from 24.2 percent of population in 2020 to 32.8 percent of population by 2050, while the working-age group would decline from 75.9 percent to 67.2 percent.
Based on UNDESA projections, made from projections on available data, on a timeline beginning with 1990 and ending by 2040, the demographic dividend of Kuwait is predicted to go from a ‘pre-dividend’ era before 1990, to an ‘early-dividend’ period between 1990 and 2010, and will enter the ‘dividend’ stage, which stretches from 2010 to 2040. Following 2040, the country is expected to gradually slide into a ‘post-dividend’ era.
The caveat to these UN figures is that in Kuwait the population pyramid shows an unbalanced structure for the working age-group due to high immigration rates. Similarly the demographic change in Kuwait is not quite explicit due to the distorted age structure resulting from the sizable labor migration flow into the country. Nevertheless, the declining working age population and high old-age-dependency ratio indicates that the window of opportunity for accelerated economic growth is slowly closing. In view of this potentially debilitating future situation, an urgent policy priority of the government should be to empower those of working age through initiatives targeting labor force participation and employment generation for youth.
According to UNDESA, some of the prerequisites for realizing the window of opportunity for accelerated economic growth offered by this demographic dividend includes political and social stability, inclusive and equitable economic and social policies, and expanded employment opportunities. Failure to promote youth empowerment, boost opportunities for their employment and open up spaces for political dialogue today, will result in Kuwait squandering its most precious resource and this will inevitably lead to serious challenges in future, including the depletion of available resources and an eroding of deliverable services, which could prove detrimental to the country’s future.
As the country recovers and rebuilds from the various repercussions of the global pandemic, it is now more important than ever before, to draw on the energy and idealism of youth to create fresh opportunities for social, economic and political development, and to help fulfill their potential to build a future that is more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient for the country and its people.