1. Y OUTH AND P OLITICS IN SRI LANKA P RADEEP P EIRIS Delhi, 24 th November 2008

2. 2 Profile Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 12%, Muslim 7% and Estate Tamils 6% Main religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christian 30% of the Sri Lankan population belongs to the age group of 15 to 29 Literacy rate 91.8 in general. Amongst Men 94.3% and amongst women 89.4% (1997 DCS) Level of unemployment amongst the A/L qualified is 15%.

3. 3 Profile contd. Unemployment by age –20 to 24 years 35.8% –25 to 29 years 16% –30 to 39 years 8% Employed areas: 24% employed Skill agriculture and fisheries 23.3% elementary occupations Desiring an occupation in: 21% clerical 0% in fisheries and agriculture

4. 4 Politics Patronage politics hindered youth entering into public office. Regulations too has failed to change the situation –Nomination 30% from political parties for provincial and local election.(1990 presidential commission) State of Democracy In South Asia (2004) provides valuable insight about youth and politics –Support for democracy »Procedural »Substantive –Political Participation –Ideology

5. 5 Politics Electoral participation is less amongst the urban youth Compared to other ethnic groups, electoral participation of Tamil youth is significantly low.

6. 6 Politics Compared to older people youth discuss politics more often

7. 7 Politics Total % Urban % Rural % Men % Women % Have you ever taken part of protest 1725162611 Have you ever taken part in a election campaign 2016212912 Have you ever taken part in solving problems concerning the locality 3231324223 Feel close to any political party 4641465438

8. 8 Politics

9. 9 Significant proportion of women and urban youth express their skepticism whether their vote can make any difference

10. 10 Politics

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12. 12 Politics

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14. 14 Politics

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17. 17 Comments Prefer democracy over its alternatives Yet, prefer delegative forms of democratic government Sri Lankan youth divided on ethnic line Rising ethno religious extremism We are strong market liberals but week liberal democrats.