Developing countries should seize a window of opportunity to invest in citizens between the ages of 12 and 24, who, according to the World Bank, are more educated and healthier than their predecessors, before population aging closes the opportunity, World Bank head of external affairs Mallory Saleson said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the launch of the World Development Report 2007, in Johannesburg, Saleson said that the youth of today represented a stronger base to build on and that this next generation of developing countries' workers, parents and citizens had fewer dependents owing to lower birth rates.

The World Development Report 2007 said that developing economies must seize the opportunity from a “youth bulge”, which occurs when the number of young people reached a record high. The developing world's youth was, however, reaching a plateau as a result of lower fertility rates, but most developing countries' number of young people was still to peak.

The report's author, Emmanuel Jimenez, explained that the window of opportunity had closed for Japan and Italy and in China and Chile the window would close in less than ten years.

But South Africa was among the countries that would have another 50 years to actively focus on investing in its youth.

He also noted that these developing countries that did invest in their 1,3-billion young people would stand a better chance to take full advantage of growth and reduce poverty.

“The world has made a lot of progress in governments widening opportunities for youth,” Jimenez said, but added that more investment was needed to ensure quality and relevance.

This was especially true for South Africa, whose government was concerned about the quality of the country's education. Jimenez added that South Africa's education scored “poorly when compared to other middle-income economies”.

Moreover, the report stated that countries could facilitate entry to growth by promoting development that could lead to greater youth employment and by reforming institutions that inhibited job creation for young people.

Jimenez said that developing countries needed to create opportunities for employment in their countries and referred to figures that showed that 75% of young people were willing to work overseas, but that only a quarter would live outside their countries permanently. But, should young people wish to migrate, developing countries have to facilitate the movement, reduce remit costs and inform the youth about risks involved in such a decision, he said.

The report stated that developing economies needed to focus not only on widening opportunities for young people, but also on enhancing their capabilities to choose among the opportunities and policies offering second chances that put young people back on the path to build human capital for the future.

The World Bank highlighted access to information, assistance to command resources and the capacity to make well-informed decisions as key interventions.

“Public spending alone will not do the trick. Policies must stimulate young people, their parents and their communities to invest in themselves,” the report said.

Coordination between the three policy interventions was identified as one of the most important parameters for success and Jimenez said that youth outcomes were lacking multi-sector efforts, which cut across all sectors.

Linda McClure, from the organisation Junior Achievement South Africa, agreed that coordination in South Africa's attempt to broaden opportunities and enhancing capabilities was critical and that the country was lacking proper coordination.

She added that the South African youth, which is not always informed about the various chances available in the country, was also lacking motivation and explained that the youth bailed out when they realise opportunities were hard work.

The World Development Report 2007 concluded that countries that wanted to mobilise the economic and political resources had to resolve better coordination and integration within national policies, stronger voice for the young people and more evaluations of youth-orientated programmes.

“Until we deal with these challenges, our economy is going to suffer tremendously. We have to lay tomorrow's foundation today,” Nelson Mandela Children's Fund CEO Sibongile Mkhabela said.