Building A Youth-Friendly World: A Long Way to Go inform policy processes, entrenched inequalities that divide young people within and across countries will be hard to dismantle. dividend. However, the YDI makes it clear that youth bulges do not automatically result in a demographic dividend. Taken together, the insights thrown up by the YDI lead firmly to the conclusion that building the capabilities of young people and including them in the decision making that has an effect on their lives is absolutely vital at every level. Otherwise the ‘demographic bulge’ that much of the world is enjoying today could easily change from a blessing into a burden. Inequalities in young people’s health, education, human rights and employment between high and low YDI countries are already deep and widespread, and girls and young women continue to suffer disproportionately in comparison with their male peers. The improvements in YDI scores for the vast majority of developing countries – home to nearly 90 per cent of the global youth population – are a reflection of the aspiration of young people to build and live in a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable world. They are also conclusive proof that smart policies, and investments in the building blocks of youth development such as health, education, digital skills and economic opportunity, can yield positive results for entire countries. But ‘Generation Hope’ is also making it increasingly clear that it is ready to fight for change if change is too slow in coming. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that young people, on whom so much will depend in the years to come, are invested in and included at the heart of democracy and development. Over the next few decades, the median age of the population in developed nations is projected to reach 46 years, while in developing countries it is expected to increase by more than ten years to reach 35 in 2050.1 In other words, over the next few decades, fewer and fewer young people will be responsible for supporting more and more older people. The shrinking proportion of young people means that the world has a limited window of opportunity to reap the benefits of a demographic Note 1 Bloom 2016. Reference Bloom, D. 2016. ‘Demographic Upheaval’. Finance and Development. 53(1): 6–11. \ 115