How do young leaders see the world today and where do they see opportunity tomorrow?
Insights from 11,367 young people between 18 and 33, across 134 countries and 433 cities.
“Young people are entering a world defined by uncertainty, from the cost of living and changing job markets to climate disruption and rapid technological change. But that uncertainty also creates an opportunity to rethink how economies grow, how people work and what progress should look like.”
“The future cannot be built by choosing between economic opportunity and sustainability. The real opportunity is to create new models of growth that expand access to good jobs while protecting the natural systems people and communities depend on.”
“As AI automates logical decision-making, Nemawashi –the practice of laying the groundwork and finding compromises before formal negotiations– will become an increasingly valuable human capability that AI cannot replicate.”
“Future leaders will need a kind of epistemic discipline — treating AI as a sharp, occasionally overconfident intern, not an oracle. The opportunity lies in combining technological capability with stronger human judgment.”
“Great leaders build cultures and systems where the right decisions become the natural ones — whether that means using technology responsibly, creating fairer opportunities or making choices that protect people and the planet.”
“Leadership is about asking open, honest and courageous questions, because leaders who ask those questions are willing to be changed by the conversation. That matters in a world where the answers on technology, climate and economic opportunity are still being written.”
“AI will become a powerful co-pilot, shifting leadership away from managing tasks and toward managing vision. As technology takes on more modelling and operations, human leaders will need to focus on trust, cross-cultural collaboration and building resilient systems for a changing world.”
“The opportunity is to move from dwelling on yesterday’s performance to solving tomorrow’s challenges — helping people become more adaptive, future-oriented and confident in navigating change.”
“In this AI revolution, leadership will matter more than ever. Agency, purpose and inner leadership are becoming essential as people navigate technological disruption, economic uncertainty and rapid change across every area of life.”
Hover a city to see its responses
SIGNAL 01 · How they see the future
Constructive optimism
Even amid economic and societal disruption, this generation expects progress and a better future than the one before it.
SIGNAL 02 · What they want from the economy
Opportunity bargain
Economic growth matters when it translates into tangible opportunity - creating jobs, mobility and pathways to get ahead.
SIGNAL 03 · How they are building capability
AI agency
Concern about AI persists, but high adoption alongside investment in human skills points to agency: young people are using AI to create opportunity not efficiency.
SIGNAL 04 · How they may lead
Consultation to collaboration
Leadership is shifting from consultation towards shared agency, giving people a greater role in shaping institutions from within.
SIGNAL 05 · What they may build
Sustainability by design
Sustainability is becoming less a trade-off to manage and more of a core principle for designing viable living spaces.
Constructive optimism
Two-thirds expect better economic prospects than their parents
Despite geopolitical instability, extreme weather and shifting labour markets, most young people expect to be economically better off than the generation before them.
Their perceptions of risk change with proximity. Globally, climate change, conflict and governance concerns dominate. Personally, economic instability, inequality and unemployment rise to the top. Concern about the world can coexist with optimism about their own prospects.
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WHAT WE SEE NOW
66% expect better economic prospects than their parents, compared with 21% who expect worse. Optimism is widespread but uneven, ranging from 85% in Sub-Saharan Africa to 54% in Europe and Eurasia.
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SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE
Young people remain optimistic about their ability to progress despite mounting systemic and personal risks. If opportunity fails to match expectations, optimism may morph into frustration and disengagement.
Expected economic prospects compared with parents, by region
- Expect worse
- Expect better
Greatest challenges, for the world and for your own life, 2017–2027
- To the world
- To your own life
Opportunity bargain
Economic growth and job creation emerge as the top national priority
As youth unemployment rises globally, economic growth and job creation dominate: more than double the next response, first in every age band and first in seven of eight regions. The exception is North America, where the cost of living comes first.
The pattern extends beyond jobs: when asked where innovation is needed most, respondents prioritize infrastructure that creates jobs and new businesses, linking growth directly to opportunity.
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WHAT WE SEE NOW
35% choose economic growth and job creation as the top national priority – more than double the next response, first in every age band and first in seven of eight regions.
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SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE
The demand is not simply for more jobs, but for the conditions that create opportunity at scale. Growth will increasingly be judged by whether it expands pathways to work, enterprise and economic mobility.
Top priority for your country in the next five years
- Economic growth and job creation 36%
- Lower cost of living 16%
- Environmental protection and climate action 13%
- Reducing inequality 11%
- Physical safety and security 11%
- Depolarization and greater tolerance 8%
- Affordable and secure energy 6%
Show where innovation is needed most
| Better infrastructure to create jobs and new businesses | 42% |
|---|---|
| Better access to education, skills and information | 36% |
| Affordable and accessible housing | 35% |
| More nature and green spaces | 29% |
| Safer communities and better emergency response | 25% |
| Easier access to healthcare facilities | 24% |
AI agency
AI use is widespread, but it is not displacing investment in human skills
Two-thirds use AI frequently or always, while leadership and interpersonal skills are the top capabilities being developed to succeed in the job market.
The pattern suggests adaptation rather than substitution. Young people are becoming fluent in AI while continuing to invest in judgement, collaboration, leadership and adaptability.
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WHAT WE SEE NOW
66% use AI frequently or always. Leadership and interpersonal skills lead development priorities at 42%, ahead of AI and data skills at 33%.
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SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE
Concern about AI can coexist with active adoption. The emerging opportunity lies in combining AI fluency with human capability to create value, not simply efficiency.
Skills being developed to succeed in the job market
Show all 18 skills
| Leadership and interpersonal skills | 42% |
|---|---|
| AI & data | 33% |
| Critical thinking | 28% |
| Resilience, flexibility and adaptability | 24% |
| Communication and storytelling | 23% |
| Business development and marketing | 21% |
| Creative thinking | 20% |
| Financial literacy | 16% |
| Curiosity and lifelong learning | 16% |
| Motivation and self-awareness | 13% |
| Resource management and operations | 11% |
| Teaching and mentoring | 9% |
| Environmental knowledge | 9% |
| Programming | 8% |
| Dependability and attention to detail | 8% |
| Design and user experience | 7% |
| Service orientation and customer service | 5% |
| Manual dexterity, endurance and precision | 4% |
Explore
How young people are using AI
Adoption is settled, but not evenly across tasks. AI has taken over drafting and searching, and has barely touched judgement or wellbeing. Pick a use to see how often the whole sample reaches for it, then break it down to compare who uses it most.
Always or frequently
Any use, overall
- Rarely or never
- Occasionally
- Always or frequently
Consultation to collaboration
Distributed decision-making is strongly preferred over traditional hierarchy
Young people express a clear preference for more collaborative forms of leadership. Four-fifths favour a distributed model, while only one in nine prefers a traditional hierarchy.
That preference extends across generations: nearly half identify joint problem-solving with experienced professionals as the most useful form of intergenerational collaboration. Rather than simply being consulted, young people value the opportunity to contribute to decisions and outcomes.
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WHAT WE SEE NOW
Only 11% would lead through a traditional hierarchy, compared with 81% who favour distributed decision-making. Nearly half prefer joint problem-solving as a model for intergenerational collaboration.
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SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE
Expectations of leadership are shifting from consultation towards meaningful influence. Young people want greater accountability and clearer evidence that their perspectives shape decisions. Institutions that invite consultation without sharing meaningful influence risk deepening distrust rather than building legitimacy.
Preferred organizational model if they led an organization
Would run a distributed model: horizontal, cooperative or network
Would run a traditional hierarchy
Not sure (5%) and AI-augmented (3%) sit outside these two bars.
Show what type of intergenerational collaboration would be most helpful
| Joint problem-solving with experienced professionals | 49% |
|---|---|
| Mentorship from senior leaders | 45% |
| Peer learning across sectors | 36% |
| Access to decision-makers | 33% |
| Sponsorship for career growth | 32% |
| Local projects with different generations | 29% |
Sustainability by design
Nature and sustainability are the most-selected features of an ideal city
When young people imagine an ideal city, nature and sustainability rank ahead of safety and accessibility, economic opportunity and social connection.
This finding suggests a broader shift in how prosperity is understood. Sustainability is not being treated as separate from jobs, infrastructure or quality of life, but as a core design principle in making places liveable, resilient and economically viable.
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WHAT WE SEE NOW
56% select nature and sustainability, followed by safe and accessible spaces at 50% and jobs and economic opportunity at 47%.
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SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE
The next generation may judge prosperity not only by how much places grow, but by whether that growth improves quality of life while remaining resilient within environmental limits.
What matters most when designing a place