Youth representation in politics is vital to ensure decision making reflects the experiences, priorities and needs of all generations. Age diverse governments can foster more inclusive policies, bridge intergenerational divides and strengthen trust in government by demonstrating that all age groups have a voice (OECD, 2024a). Governments must promote youth representation in politics while strengthening their technical and administrative capacity to enhance participation, using digital tools to improve accessibility and align with young people's communication preferences (OECD, 2022).
Although 20-39 year-olds represent 34% of the voting-age population on average across OECD countries, only 22% of members of parliament (MPs) were aged 40 and under in 2024, a representation gap of 12 percentage points. There is significant variation across countries, from a high of 42% of young MPs in Colombia to less than 15% in seven countries. In Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway, the shares of young MPs are within 2 p.p. of the share of under 40s in the voting-age population (Figure 13.14).
In December 2024, only 60 out of a total of 770 cabinet across OECD countries were under 40 (8%) and only 22 were aged 35 or under (3%). The average age of cabinet members across OECD countries is 53 years, unchanged since 2022. The five youngest cabinets are in Denmark (average age of 46), Lithuania (46), Estonia (47), Norway (48) and Finland (48). The countries which have seen the average age of cabinet members fall the most since 2022 were Colombia (with a fall of 5 years), Luxembourg (-5), Mexico (-3) (Figure 13.15).
Young people (18-29 year-olds) reported being less engaged than other age groups in formal political activities, such as voting, contacting politicians/governments or participating in public consultations in 2023 The widest gap was in voting in national elections, where, according to self reports, young people were 21 p.p. less likely to vote than those aged 50 and over. In contrast, young people were more likely than their older peers to engage in more informal forms of political activity such as taking part in public demonstrations (by 5 p.p.) and posting political content on social media (by 5 p.p.) (Figure 13.16).
