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Deciphering Adolescence and Youth
Persons aged between 10 and 24, considered as "young people", make up approximately 151.865.300 persons in South America, with 76.821.277 males and 75.044.023 females. In other words, they form 29.8% of the total population of Latin America. (for the purpose of this work this percentage includes the young people aged between 10 and 24 years.)
For their significant number but also for the immense energy, talent and creativity they embody, the young Latin Americans are called to make a valuable contribution to the development of their society.
Through greater educational and cultural opportunities relating to health and healthy reproduction, studies and training, healthy recreation and creative use of the leisure time, - as through the real mechanisms of participation it will be possible to modify the conditions reducing the risks and shackles that withhold and impede the individual evolution and the contribution of each one.
That these shackles exist will be clearly visible throughout the indications and numbers that are presented in continuation. It is our responsibility to weaken these data!
We all need to contribute, - families, governmental and non governmental institutions, health providers, educators, businessmen and workers, the church, the community, international organs and other sectors that are a driving force for the positive change - to make THE YOUNG a strong impulse of the present and a fair constructive component of the future for the Nations of Latin America.
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General Numbers
-The young people between 15 and 24 form 20% of the Latin American population.
-The average age in most nations of Latin America and the Caribbean is below 20 years.
-It is estimated that 80% of the Latin Americans (aged 10-24) live in urban areas.
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Poverty
-A third of the adolescents live in poverty.
-Almost half of this number refers to people younger than 19 years.
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Education
-In Central America, 52% of the adolescents are registered in secondary education. 1.200.000 of the adolescents between 15-19 years of age are illiterates (5%) and 42% of the women (15-19) do not attend school.
-Concerning the rural level, the illiteracy of women aged between 15 and 24 is 25% whereas the urban level reaches only about 5%. In Latin-America, 52% of men and 42% of women aged between 15 and 19 do not take part in school education.
-In most nations of Latin America, at least every tenth of the adolescents attends university although only a small part finishes the studies.
-Among the adolescents that abandon school prematurely, about half of the women become housewives whereas almost all of the men enter the job market. Education is the variable that has the biggest effect on negative health results like precocious pregnancies, drug consumption and violence.
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Health
-The principle causes of diseases the adolescents and young people are affected with concern accidents, complaints in connection with sexuality and procreation and mental disorders.
-Among the principle health problems that affect the adolescents aged between 10 and 19 we find infections, parasitic diseases and lung tuberculosis whose increase is connected with AIDS and represents a cause of death as important as maternal mortality.
-70 of 100.000 adolescents die each year through accidents and violence that are the main causes of death.
-The number of men dying through accidents/suicide is three/seven times higher than the one of women.
-95% of the adolescents aged 18 have already consumed alcohol.
-Between 45% and 60% of the fatal car accidents are produced by adolescents that have abused alcohol or drugs.
-It is estimated that between 10% and 30% of the adolescents and young people have consumed marihuana.
-The WHO estimates that of a 100 children or young persons that die of some traumatism, 15 remain seriously affected by the incident and 30 or 40 require professional, medical and psychological treatment and rehabilitation.
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Health, Reproduction and Sexual Health
-50% of the adolescents younger than 17 years of age are sexually active in Latin America.
-Only one tenth of the sexually active adolescents use some sort of contraceptives.
-It is calculated that each year more than 3.000.000 of the Latin American young women get pregnant and give birth.
-Each year there are 2.000.000 new born children of young mothers in Latin America.
-Between 20% and 30% of the pregnancies end up in abortion which occurs more frequently among women older than 20 years.
-The risk to die is 5 times higher for pregnant girls aged between 10 and 14 than for young women between 20 and 24.
-During 1998, 8.000 girls and boys younger than 14 have infected themselves with HIV.
-The highest affect of sexually transmittable diseases is found in groups of 20 to 24 years old, followed by the group of 15 to 19 years old and at least half of the infected with HIV are younger than 24 years.
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Violence within Family and Society
-Each year 465.000 young people die because of violence, it is said that 53 die each hour.
-28,7% of the suicides occur among adolescents.
-It is estimated that 4 to 14% of the adolescents have suffered mistreatment.
-35% of the physically maltreated women of this continent are pregnant.
-In ten of 21 countries with more than 1.000.000 inhabitants, suicide is the second cause of death among the 15 to 24 years old and it is one of the 5 main causes of death in 17 of these countries.
-Recent investigations estimate that each year at least 6.000.000 persons younger than 18 are victims of severe physical aggression and 85.000 of them die because of violence.
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Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment
-Juvenile workforce in Latin America is estimated to be around 50.000.000 of the adolescents and young people between 15 and 24 years of age, men make up two thirds and women form 34%.
-Unemployment varies between 36 and 66% in Latin America and it is estimated that it is twice as high compared to the adult unemployment.
-A high share of the adolescents work in the informal sector.
-Approximately half of the unemployed of the region are young people between 15 and 24 years.
-Young female workers of the region only earn between 57% and 75% compared to the income of male workers.
-The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that worldwide 250.000.000 of the young girls and boys between 5 and 14 years work partially or full time and 7% of that number refers to Latin America.
-Between 8 and 15% of the adolescents that are aged around 10 to 14 sacrifice their school education in order to work.
-In Latin America and the Caribbean approximately 7.600.000 people between 10 and 14 years of age are economically active.
-In Latin America, between 60 and 70% of the boys younger than 15 that work in urban areas and between 45 and 50% of them working in rural areas are salary earners.
-Non remunerated family work represents between 40 and 45% and self-employment only makes up 10 to 15%.
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City Activities
Only between 5 and 20% of the Latin American adolescents - according to the countries and to the time when these inquiries were made - join any organisation or participate in a youth activity group.
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