On July 11, 2014 UNFPA Armenia office held a press conference devoted to the World Population Day. Garik Hayrapetyan, UNFPA Armenia Assistant Representative was the speaker at the press conference.
This year the theme of the World Population Day was "Investing in Young People".
Mr. Hayrapetyan presented the current situation with youth in the world and in Armenia. As the speaker noted, there are around 1.8 billion young people in the world. They face a variety of issues ranging from unemployment and poverty to issues related to marriage and reproductive health.
In Armenia 34 per cent of youth is poor. This is higher than the average for the country that constitutes around 32 per cent. According to UN, 40 per cent of youth in Armenia is unemployed.
Mr. Hayrapetyan also indicated that one third of youth aged 27-29 is not married; among 30 year olds this indicator is every fourth. According to the Assistant Representative the average marriage age has increased. For men it has reached almost 29, and for women - 25.3-ը.
During the press conference the journalists were given a brief facsheet on global and local youth, an issue of "Women and Politics" insert with a cover story tackling youth issues, published through UNFPA support, as well as statements of UN Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director, devoted to the World Population Day.
