Afghan youth: challenges to development

Depending on which source you read, youth – defined as those aged between 15 and 29 years – account for up to 70 percent of Afghanistan's estimated population of 29 million. The median age of the nation is just 15.6 years. Referred to by demographers as a 'youth bulge', Afghanistan's demographic realities present a stark contrast to the ageing populations of the West and much of South and Southeast Asia, providing a unique set of economic, political and social challenges. Described by experts as a 'statistically risky population', the desires, demands, successes and shortcomings of this generation will shape Afghanistan's future in the years and decades to come. At present, the challenges this reality presents are sobering.

Demographic pressures
Factors related to demographic trends such as unemployment, heightened expectations among job seekers, urbanisation, and environmental stresses due to scarce resources contribute to social unrest and violence. Given Afghanistan's adverse security situation, it is possible that this relationship will be exacerbated. Indeed, there is a consensus that the insurgency – as much as the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police – offers a source of employment, albeit high-risk, to Afghan youth. This results in an alarming correlation between unemployment, poverty and inequality on the one hand, and radicalisation on the other: young men often join insurgencies simply in order to earn an income or increase their status. For many youth caught between self-actualisation prospects (pursuing an education, etc.) and the survival needs of the family, life's choices are at times dismal. Often, unemployed youth can neither feed their family nor afford education.