Jordanian youth still has not reached decent wellbeing — survey

AMMAN — Jordan has not yet achieved a high level of wellbeing for its youth, the Global Youth Wellbeing Index showed on Tuesday.

Published a day after the announcement of Jordan’s official entrance into the International Youth Federation (IYF), the survey ranked the Kingdom at a 0.57 overall performance.

Rating nations between 0 (low youth wellbeing) and 1 (high), the index gathered youth-related data in 30 countries to assess the state of young people’s wellbeing around the world.

15th in the overall ranking, Jordan gained two places compared to the last report published in 2014.

The Kingdom is the second-highest country among the four MENA countries listed in the index, after Saudi Arabia, which scored 0.61.

Countries were rated according to 35 indicators covering seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including gender equality, economic opportunity, education, health, safety and security, citizen participation, ICT, according to the index 

Jordan’s strengths were identified as safety and security and education, while its weakest scores were economic opportunity and citizen participation. 

During the World Economic Forum held in Jordan earlier this year, HRH Crown Prince Hussein called for a region-wide support system for better opportunity, access and hope for young people.

In Jordan, over 68 per cent of the population is aged between 18 and 29 years old, according to the latest UNICEF figures.

“As the global community works toward achieving the SDG, too many young people remain disconnected from vital skills, economic opportunities, local communities and national governments,” the statement said. 

“The Index is designed to facilitate both thought and action by elevating youth needs and opportunities and young people’s participation on national and global agendas,” IYF said on its website, adding “it also provides public and private sector decision makers an easier way to understand the big picture, guide actions and investments, and drive progress over time.”