1. Profile of Youth in India
Analysis of NFHS-3 Data
NFHS-3, India

2. Youth in India constitutes one-fifth of total population.
The youth population has an important role to play as potential demographic dividend by constituting skilled stock of human capital.
The youth population also has an important role in demographic evolution.
NFHS-3, India

3. National Youth Policy-2003
The commitment of the entire nation to the composite and all round development of the young sons and daughters of India and seeks to establish an All-India perspective to fulfill their legitimate aspirations so that they are all strong of heart and strong of body and mind in successfully accomplishing the challenging task of national reconstruction and social changes that lie ahead.
NFHS-3, India

4. Contents of Presentation
Profile of youth
Knowledge about selected health related issues
Attitudes towards selected population, health and gender concerns
Behaviour of youth in health related spheres
Health and nutritional profile of youth
NFHS-3, India

5. Profile of Youth Education Mass media exposure Employment Marriage
NFHS-3, India

6. UNFPA definition of youth, population - age 15-24 - is adopted for this report
NFHS-3 interviewed 47,590 women and 24,997 men age 15-24:
Age-group
Women
Men
15-19
24,811
13,008
20-24
22,779
11,989
15-24
47,590
24,997
31% of women and 38% of men are from urban areas
37% of women and 32% of men are from the two lowest wealth quintiles
NFHS-3, India

7. Literacy Rates Among Youth
Age-group
Women
Men
15-19 74 89
20-24 64 84
15-24 69 86
25-49 46 73
Literacy rate among women
Age 15-77% , age %
Urban 86%, rural 62%
Never married 84%, ever married 55%
Poorest HHs 33%, richest HHs 97%
NFHS-3, India

8. Completed years of education
Education Among Youth
Completed years of education
Women (%)
Men (%)
No education 26 10
< 5 years complete 7 8
5-7 years complete 18
8-9 years complete 20 27
10-11 years complete 15 19
12+ years complete 14
Total
100
29% of women (47% of urban and 20% of rural) have 10+ years of schooling.
38% of men (49% of urban and 31% of rural) have 10+ years of schooling.
NFHS-3, India

9. School Enrollment Among Youth
School attendance rate at age 15-17
34% of women and 49% of men age
attended school in the year

10. Most youth are exposed to some form of media
70% of women and 88% of men have at least weekly exposure to television, radio, or newspapers/magazines.
Majority of women with no education and women in rural areas are not regularly exposed to any media.
NFHS-3, India

11. Employment among Youth
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12. Many youth are economically active.
36% of women and 67% of men age are employed.
Almost all men with no education and ever married men are employed.
The majority of employed women are agricultural workers; whereas, there is greater diversity in male employment.
Less than two-thirds of employed women (63%) earn cash for their work, compared with 88 percent of employed men.
NFHS-3, India

13. Percentage of Married Youth by Age
Figures in yellow indicate percentage married including gauna not performed
Figures in white indicate percentage married excluding gauna not performed
NFHS-3, India

14. Many youth marry below legal age at marriage
Half of women and about one in five men age are married.
19% of women age and 7% of men age are married.
In Bihar  (38%), Jharkhand (36%), Rajasthan (31%), and West Bengal (26%) more than one-fourth of women age are arried, though many of them have not started living with husband.
NFHS-3, India

15. Many youth are heading households
One percent of women and 8% of men age are household heads.
29% of currently married men age are heading their own households.
Youth in households headed by youth are poorer than youth in households headed by someone who is older.
NFHS-3, India

16. Knowledge of Youth of Selected Family Planning and Health Issues
Knowledge of family planning methods
Awareness of AIDS
Knowledge of HIV/AIDS
NFHS-3, India

17. Most youth have heard of available modern contraceptive spacing methods
93% of women know of female sterilization, but only 83 percent know about pills and 71 percent each know about IUDs and condoms.
93% of men know about condoms, but only 78 percent know about pills and 37 percent know about the IUD.
Only 8% of women and 15% of men know about emergency contraception.
NFHS-3, India

18. A majority of youth lack comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS
About two-thirds of women and 88 percent of men have heard of AIDS .
Three out of four men know that the risk of HIV/AIDS can be reduced by condom use or by limiting sex to one uninfected partner; however, less than half of women know about these ways of HIV/AIDS prevention.
Only 20 percent of women and 36 percent of men have comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS.
In many states, less than one-half of women have heard of AIDS.
NFHS-3, India

19. In high HIV prevalence states many youth are not aware of AIDS.
In two high HIV prevalence states of Manipur and Tamil Nadu, almost all young women and men are aware of AIDS.
In the remaining four high prevalence states of Maharashtra, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka less than percent of women but percent men know of AIDS.
NFHS-3, India

20. Youth’s Attitudes toward Selected Population, Health and Gender Concerns
Family size preference
Family life education
Gender role attitudes
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21. Family Size Preferences
Percent distribution of women and men by ideal number of children
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22. Youth’s attitude toward gender roles is, in general, no more egalitarian than the attitude of the older cohort age 25-49
More than half of youth (53% of women and 56% of men) agree that it is justified for a husband to beat his wife under specific circumstances.
About two-thirds of youth (64% of women and 68% of men) believe that a woman is justified in refusing to have sex with her husband for specific reasons.
NFHS-3, India

23. Behaviour of Youth in Health related Spheres
Initiation of fertility
Family planning use and unmet need
Sexual behaviour
Consumption of tobacco and alcohol
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24. Initiation of childbearing
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25. Early childbearing is the main feature of India’s fertility pattern
According to current fertility schedule, by the time a woman in India reaches age 25, she already has on an average 1.5 children.
More than half of total fertility is realized by the time women reaches age 25.
In all the states except Goa, by the time women reach age 25, they already have on an average at least one child.
NFHS-3, India

26. Trend in Contraceptive Prevalence Rate
NFHS-3, India

27. Family Planning Method Choice of Youth
Among the teenagers, the methods most often used are rhythm (4%), condom (3%), and withdrawal and pill (2% each).
One percent of teenagers have already undergone sterilization.
Among the age group 20-24, female sterilization is the preferred method. 13% of women age are sterilized.
Among women age also, 7 percent of women have chosen traditional methods, though condom (6%) and pill (4%) are also used by a sizeable proportion.
NFHS-3, India

28. Pattern of contraceptive use by youth reveals son preference
NFHS-3, India

29. Youth in India has a large unmet need for family planning.
27% of teenage women and 21% of women age
20-24 have unmet need for family planning.
25% of teenage women and 15% of women age
20-24 have unmet need for spacing.
There has been is only a small decrease in the unmet need for family planning since NFHS-2.
NFHS-3, India

30. Early marriage leads to early initiation of sexual activity among women  
51% of women and 27% of men age have ever had sexual intercourse.
One in every 10 women and 2% of men had sexual intercourse before age 15 years.
Among never married youth, 12% of men and less than 1% of women report ever having had sexual intercourse.
NFHS-3, India

31. There is evidence of higher-risk sex among male youth unprotected by condom use.  
Among youth who have ever had sexual inter-course, men on average have had 1.8 partners, and women have had slightly more than one partner.
Among the 22% of men who had sexual intercourse in the 12 months prior to the survey, a little more than one-quarter had higher-risk intercourse, i.e., they had intercourse with a partner who was neither a spouse nor lived with them.
Among men who had higher-risk sexual intercourse, a little more than one-third used a condom at last higher-risk intercourse.
NFHS-3, India

32. T Tobacco use and alcohol consumption are matters of concern.
40% of men use tobacco in some form, including 19% who smoke cigarettes/bidis and 30 percent who consume paan masala, gutkha, or other tobacco products.
5% of female youth report tobacco use, mainly in the form of chewing tobacco.
One-fifth of young men and 1 percent of young
women age consume alcohol.
Tobacco and alcohol consumption begin early: Even among men who are only 15 years of age, 16 percent use some form of tobacco and 6 percent consume alcohol.
NFHS-3, India

33. T Tobacco use and alcohol consumption among men begin early
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34. Health and Nutritional Profile of Youth
Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections
Prevalence of HIV
Nutritional status
Anaemia
Domestic violence
NFHS-3, India

35. Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and STI Symptoms
Percentage of women and men who ever had sexual intercourse reporting having an STI and/or symptoms of STI in the past 12 months
NFHS-3, India

36. Prevalence of STIs and STI symptoms is higher among never married men.
NFHS-3, India

37. HIV Prevalence Among Youth
Women
Men
Total
Age %
15-19
0.07
0.01
0.04
20-24
0.17
0.19
0.18
Residence
Urban
0.16
0.11
0.14
Rural
0.09
0.08
0.10
NFHS-3, India

38. HIV Prevalence Among Youth in High HIV States
NFHS-3, India

39. Nutritional Status of Youth
Men
Women
NFHS-3, India

40. Anaemia Among Youth  
56%
57%
Women
Men
NFHS-3, India

41. The high prevalence of spousal violence is a continuing hurdle to the achievement of health goals and gender equality  
More than one in three married female youth (37%) have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their husband.
Seven percent of all female youth and 11 percent of married female youth have experienced sexual violence.
NFHS-3, India

42. Concluding Remarks  
To fully exploit the demographic dividend, India’s youth need to be healthy, educated, skilled and forward looking. However, the report points out a few weak areas.
A sizeable proportion lacks education, even literacy
Early marriage
Burdened with childbearing and rearing
Large unmet need for family planning
Poor nutritional status
Substance abuse
In knowledge, attitude and behaviour youth is not very different from the older counterpart.
NFHS-3, India

43. Concluding Remarks
In knowledge, attitude and behaviour use is not very different from the older counterpart.
NFHS-3, India

44. Thank You
NFHS-3, India