Nepal, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka: When demographic dividend isn't delivered, Pg 12.

Key Highlights:

• Youth-led uprisings have occurred in Sri Lanka (2022), Bangladesh (2024), Indonesia (August 2025), and Nepal (September 2025) due to economic growth not improving lives for new labor force entrants.
• Public anger in Nepal is rising due to displays of luxurious lifestyles by children of the political class amid high corruption, ranking 107 out of 180 in Transparency International’s corruption rankings.
• Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto faced public unrest after parliamentarians were to receive a monthly housing allowance of $3,000, almost 10 times the country’s highest minimum wage.
• The Asian Development Bank reported in June that economic growth in Asia has not been accompanied by millions of new jobs due to increased automation in traditional sectors.

Detailed Insights:

• The concept of demographic dividend, where a larger working-age population boosts economic growth, is not materializing in several Asian economies due to high corruption and lack of political continuity.
• South Asia created only 10 million jobs a year from 2000 to 2023, just over half of what was required, leading the World Bank to warn that the region risks squandering its demographic dividend.
• In Indonesia, the national unemployment rate in 2024 was 4.91%, but the rate for those aged 20-24 was 15.34%; in Bangladesh, the highest unemployment rate of 8.24% was for those aged 15-24 in 2023.
• Nepal’s unemployment increased to 12.6% in 2022-23 from 11.4% in 2017-18, with many young Nepalis seeking jobs abroad, resulting in remittances accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s GDP.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Demographic Dividend: Economic growth resulting from changes in a country's age structure, where the working-age population is larger than the dependent population.
• Corruption: Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
• Unemployment Rate: The percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment.