Sudan is, demographically, a remarkably young country. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Sudan's population was estimated at approximately 51.7 million in 2025, with people between the ages of 10 and 24 representing around 32% of the population. This means that more than 16 million adolescents and young people are growing, learning, entering the workforce and beginning to shape the country's future.

The scale of this generation presents an extraordinary development opportunity. A young population can bring creativity, energy, new ideas and a strong capacity to adapt to rapidly changing technologies and economies. But demographic potential does not automatically translate into a demographic dividend. The opportunities available to young people, including education, skills, employment, entrepreneurship, leadership and meaningful participation, will determine how fully that potential can contribute to national development.

This makes investment in young people much more than a youth-sector priority. It is an investment in the future economic, social and institutional capacity of the country.

Young people are entering adulthood at a time when the nature of work is changing rapidly. Digital technologies, artificial intelligence, new business models and increasingly interconnected economies are transforming the skills required to participate effectively in the labour market. At the same time, traditional leadership models are evolving as communities and institutions increasingly recognise the value of participation, collaboration and locally generated solutions.

Preparing young people for this environment requires more than formal education alone. Leadership, communication, critical thinking, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, problem-solving and the ability to work across disciplines are becoming increasingly important capabilities.

For Sudan, the size of the youth population means that even relatively small improvements in access to these capabilities can have a significant cumulative impact.

The opportunity is equally important at the community level. Young people frequently have close knowledge of the challenges affecting their communities and can bring perspectives that may not otherwise be represented in decision-making processes. Creating meaningful mechanisms through which young people can contribute ideas, participate in programme design and take responsibility for local initiatives can strengthen both the relevance and sustainability of development efforts.

This approach is closely connected to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Young people's lives intersect with virtually every Sustainable Development Goal: quality education, gender equality, decent work, innovation, reduced inequalities, sustainable communities, climate action, peaceful and inclusive institutions and partnerships for development.

Young people should therefore not be understood simply as beneficiaries of these goals. They are also essential partners in achieving them.

For the International Youth Federation (IYF), this principle is central to its approach to youth development. The Federation works to strengthen young people's capabilities, leadership and participation while connecting them with opportunities, networks and knowledge at national, regional and international levels.

In Sudan, this approach can take many forms. Leadership and capacity-development programmes can help emerging young leaders strengthen practical skills and confidence. Innovation initiatives can provide spaces for young people to develop solutions to challenges in their communities. Partnerships with universities, public institutions, civil society and the private sector can help connect learning with professional and entrepreneurial opportunities. Youth-focused platforms can also create stronger links between young people and the institutions shaping policies and programmes that affect their lives.

The experience of IYF's Young Leadership Development Programme (YLDP) demonstrates one way in which such investment can be translated into practical programming. Successive cohorts have brought young people together around leadership, skills development and sustainable development, providing a foundation upon which future programmes can build.

The development of an IYF Country Programme for Sudan will provide an opportunity to consider youth development more systematically: identifying where the Federation's experience and international network can complement national priorities and where partnerships can create practical opportunities for young people.

A particularly important part of that process will be listening to young people themselves. Youth programmes are strongest when young people participate in identifying priorities rather than being treated solely as recipients of predetermined interventions. Understanding their ambitions, skills gaps, ideas and expectations can help institutions design programmes that are more relevant and better suited to changing social and economic realities.

The demographic numbers make the significance of this engagement clear. With roughly one in three Sudanese aged between 10 and 24, decisions concerning young people's education, skills, opportunities and participation are ultimately decisions about Sudan's long-term development trajectory.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply to create programmes for young people. It is to create the conditions in which young people can increasingly become designers, partners and leaders of development themselves.

Sudan's young population represents millions of individual ambitions, ideas and talents. Unlocking that potential will require sustained investment, effective institutions and partnerships that connect opportunity with capability.

For IYF Sudan, that is where the idea of a youth dividend begins: recognising young people not as a future resource waiting to be activated, but as a generation already capable of contributing to the country's development today.