More than 50 experts attended an online regional conference on “Youth Statistics and the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs],” organized by the CIS Interstate Statistical Committee with National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the CIS member states. The key purpose of the conference, held on 22 December, was to share the progress made by countries to improve youth statistics related to the SDGs, and to discuss and finalize the structure of the next statistical abstract, “Youth in the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

The conference brought together experts in socio-demographic statistics from the NSOs of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Each representative shared information on the efforts made by member states to improve youth statistics in their respective countries.

Participants also discussed the draft layout of the statistical abstract “Youth in the Commonwealth of Independent States,” which is planned to be released in 2021. The discussion covered the possibility of including information on the results of one-time sample surveys conducted over the past three years at the country level on topics affecting various aspects of the lives of young people, such as reproductive health; education and employment; the use of information and communication technologies; the standard of living; social support for young families; time budgets; housing conditions; gender equality; and violence against women. Based on the results of this discussion, the structure of the statistical abstract was finalized.

The conference was organized in accordance with an agreement signed between the CIS Interstate Statistical Committee and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) within the framework of the regional project CISPop: Better Data for Better Policies, funded by the Russian Federation. The project aims to strengthen the collection, analysis and utilization of data for evidence-based policymaking in the Commonwealth of Independent States.