The best and worst countries to live in if you're young

Pakistan is among one of the worst countries for young people under 25 to live in, according to data collated from international organisations, including the World Bank, Unesco and the OECD.

Research conducted by columnist, Felix Marquardt, identified 64 nations for which a sufficient amount of reliable and comparable information was available, after which, the team used 59 indicators to rank the countries.



Data was compiled based on surveys on optimism among the youth, but also on harder data measuring health, educational opportunities, and access to employment. The research primarily focused on those below the age of 25.



With Pakistan ranking among some of the worst countries for young people to live in, other countries include Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Mali and South Africa. The surveys also found that many young people face a lack of prospects in parts of Africa and Asia.

On the contrary, research found that Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are the world's youth-friendliest countries.



Not surprisingly, richer or economically expanding countries are the best places for young people. However, there are other factors that come into play as well. Marquardt writes that young people should be encouraged to go abroad and ‘work visas’ should be available in more countries.

Further, according to the index, China outranked many South American and European nations including Spain, Croatia and Italy due to its efforts to alleviate poverty, and its willingness to invest in education.

Meanwhile, the index also found that labour unions made a lot of difference as far as a country’s attractiveness was concerned. “We noticed that nations where labour unions also advocate for those who are unemployed performed much better in our index,” Marquardt said.



This article originally appeared on Independent