Last month, UN DESA launched the World Youth Report on Youth Mental Health and Well-being, highlighting the urgent need for inclusive, youth-informed mental health policies. Another report, World Population Highlights 2026: Youth, is now being released, focusing on the latest youth population trends to help policymakers use population foresight to address the needs of young people everywhere and ensure that demographic change supports equitable and sustainable development.
The first report was launched by UN DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development during the 64th session of the Commission for Social Development. Its release aligns with growing global concern over young people’s mental health, as youth face intersecting challenges such as poverty and inequality, barriers to education and decent work, digital harms, conflict, social exclusion, and climate-related stress.
Bjørg Sandkjær, ASG for Policy Coordination of UN DESA, underscored that “addressing youth mental health requires confronting inequality itself through coordinated, equitable, and inclusive social policies that expand opportunity, reduce exclusion, and strengthen solidarity.” She emphasized that the report’s findings should inform intergovernmental processes—including the Commission for Social Development—and support the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth, alongside broader efforts to realize the commitments outlined in the Doha Political Declaration adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development.
The World Youth Report adopts a youth-informed social determinants approach, examining how education, work, family dynamics, poverty, digital environments, societal attitudes, and climate change shape mental health outcomes. Presenting the findings, Masumi Ono, Chief of the Social Inclusion and Participation Branch of UN DESA, highlighted that inequalities in opportunities are closely linked to disparities in mental health and well-being; stigma and discrimination continue to limit access to care, education, and employment; and preventive, community-based, and youth-responsive approaches are essential to closing mental health gaps.
UN DESA also released additional data and analysis focusing on the global youth population. The report World Population Highlights 2026: Youth illustrates youth population trends that offer critical insights into how societies are evolving. Produced by UN DESA’s Population Division, the report provides an essential evidence base for building more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable futures for all.
The report aims to equip governments, youth advocates, and civil society with information on key population trends related to global youth—including expected changes in the size and geographical distribution of this age group, as well as core aspects of youth well-being. These findings seek to help policymakers and other key stakeholders use population foresight to address the needs of young people everywhere and ensure that demographic change supports equitable and sustainable development.
Youth priorities and concerns will also be addressed at the 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum (14–16 April), a platform for young people to exchange ideas, showcase innovative solutions, and strengthen youth engagement in accelerating progress on the SDGs.
