Publication: Adolescent Health
Date
2002-11
ISSN
Published
2002-11
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
More than a quarter of the world's
population is between the ages of 10 and 24. Most (86
percent) of the world's 1.7 billion young people live
in developing countries, where they are often 30 percent or
more of the population. At first glance, youth appears to be
a relatively healthy although not hazard-free period of
life. Young people account for 15 percent of the disease and
injury burden worldwide and over one million die each year,
mainly from preventable causes. Nonetheless, roughly 70
percent of premature deaths among adults can be linked to
behavior initiated during adolescence, such as tobacco use,
poor eating habits, and risky sex. Investing in health and
development of young people is not only the right thing to
do, it's the smart thing for countries that want their
economies to grow faster: 1) reducing HIV infection in young
people will reduce the devastating economic impact of
HIV/AIDS; 2) when young people postpone marriage and
childbearing, family size falls and population growth slows.
Combined with investments in health and education, these
changes contribute to higher economic growth and incomes;
and 3) investments to head off negative behaviors such as
tobacco use and drug abuse will pay off later for
individuals and for society.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2002. Adolescent Health. at a glance. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9751 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”