Youth and Development: Preliminary Findings from Round 4 in Ethiopia

This fact sheet presents findings from the fourth round of data collection carried out by Young Lives in Ethiopia in late 2013. It reports on outcomes for the Older Cohort at age 19 in terms of education, employment and marriage, showing clearly how young people's opportunities in life are influenced by their gender, their family's wealth level and background circumstances. Almost 60% of the young people were still in education at age 19 (27% combining this with work), 28% had left school and were working, and 7% were not studying, working or married. Young people from poorer groups and rural areas were more likely to have left full-time education, many without a secondary-level qualification. By the age of 19, 13% of the girls in our sample were married and 10% already had a child of their own. Early marriage and child-bearing is most common for girls in rural areas and from poor households. Our findings show that, despite high aspirations earlier in adolescence, by age 19 the reality for many young people is very different.