Youth Perceptions of Corruption: Help Overcome the Data Deficit!

A sign in Zimbabwe indicating that all may not consider illegal pirating as corrupt.

By: Brooks Marmon, Accountability Architect

In many countries across the world, demographics are dominated by an ever rising youth population. In Nepal, for example, roughly 50% of the population is under the age of 24. In Liberia, where the Lab also works, the same percentage is under 15 years old. Governments and researchers have long been concerned by the political and security implications of this ‘youth bulge’. Yet there is little hard data on youth perceptions of the ills in society- like corruption- that might lead to disengagement or violence among this demographic. An important ongoing survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) seeks to fill this gap by assessing corruption perceptions among millennials around the world.