News Release
Parliaments are getting (slightly) younger according to
latest IPU data
Geneva, Thursday, 22 April. For immediate release
The global proportion of MPs aged under 30 has edged up to 2.6 per cent, according
to the latest IPU report on
Youth Participation in National Parliaments.
This represents
an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared with two years ago. However, with 50
per cent of
the world’s population under 30, the report
highlights a sizeable deficit in
the political representation of young people worldwide.
Just over ten years ago,
the IPU’s
Member Parliaments adopted the 2010 resolution
on youth participation in the democratic process. The resolution led to the creation of
the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, the premier global body
for the world’s
youngest MPs. It also led the IPU to collect data and information on youth participation
in parliaments. This latest report is the fourth in the series and is based on data from
2020.
IPU President Duarte Pacheco said:
“To
deliver for the people, democracy must
represent all the people. We need more young women and men parliamentarians to
make parliaments more effective, innovative and inclusive. Increasing the number of
young MPs is a priority of the IPU and is at the forefront of my three-year
mandate.”
President of the Board of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians, Melvin Bouva,
said:
“Although
youth all over the world need to play a more fundamental role in the
development of our nations, progress in their participation in parliament needs to be
improved. It is essential to raise awareness among especially youth and politicians.
This IPU report provides a wealth of strategies to lead to the much-needed change. I
firmly hope that this report also contributes to the next steps we need to take for more
inclusive and stronger parliaments for the development of our people and nations. We
urge all parliamentarians, political leaders, and in particular young leaders all over, to
step up political will and take transformative actions to get more young people into
office.”
Country rankings
The report ranks countries according to how many parliamentarians are under 30,
under 40 and under 45. Countries with the youngest parliamentarians tend to have
made concerted efforts to engage young people in politics (for example, Norway and
Djibouti). They also tend to have low ages of eligibility to run for office (for example,
Denmark and Sweden).
The IPU report also shows progress in other age categories. Some 30.2 per cent of
the world’s MPs are under
the age of 45, up 2.1 percentage points from 28.1 per cent
in 2018.
Around
25 per cent of the world’s single and lower chambers of parliament have no
MPs under age 30. However, this an improvement compared to 30 per cent in 2018.