| Half of the world’s people are under the age of 25. Some three billion children and young people are, or will soon be, of reproductive age. |
Universal access to reproductive health, including family planning, is the starting point for a better future for the 1.5 billion young people (ages 10 to 24) who live in developing countries. |
In 57 developing countries, over 40 per cent of the population is under 15. |
The number of youth in the world surviving on less than a dollar a day in 2000 was an estimated 238 million, almost a quarter (22.5 per cent) of the world’s total youth population. |
Despite a shift toward later marriage in many parts of the world, 82 million girls in developing countries who are now aged 10 to 17 will be married before their 18th birthday. |
