GIRLS DISCOVERED; Global Maps of Adolescent Girls

I was blown away today when I found GIRLS DISCOVERED.ORG. So much data, so many fascinating and sobering statistics about girls and women around the world- I love it! You've got to check it out.  Thousands of data points and hours of research went into creating maps that show anything from child labor percentages to sexual safety rates, and the visual effect is stunning.

What is their mission? To make these girls visable. Because only when they are visable can they be helped.  

     "The welfare of adolescent girls is crucial in determining economic and social outcomes for countries today, and in the future. For girls to become healthy mothers, productive citizens and economic contributors, their unique needs must be seen and understood.

     Yet today, adolescent girls are undercounted and so underserved. Counting them is the first step to increasing their visibility.

     Girls Discovered takes that first step. As a comprehensive source of maps and data on the status of adolescent girls worldwide, Girls Discovered helps donors, policy makers and implementing agencies target their investments.

     This one-stop shop for information on adolescent girls is sourced from organizations operating in the public interest, and is meant for researchers, practitioners, advocates, policy-makers and the public – anyone who seeks change for the world’s 600 million adolescent girls."

I love it! This is exactly what this blog is trying to do - to make a change by spreading information and raising awareness of global human rights issues.  The more you know, the more you can do to help, right?

A few stats from their maps:

There are currently 849.6m girls in the world aged 10-24 years. They comprise 13% of the global population

Between 2005 and 2020, the population of girls aged 10-24 years is forecast to grow by 5.1% on average, though this disguises significant variations between countries.

Almost 50% of girls under 5 years of age are underweight in India and Bangladesh, where the situation is marginally better for boys. These countries are the worst globally for under-5 underweight prevalence.

Prevalence of FGM is widest in Somalia, where 98% of women and adolescent girls aged 15-49 years have been genitally mutilated or cut.

In Mali, only 22.5% of girls aged 15-24 years are literate, while literacy among boys is 36.1%

In Somalia and Chad, over half of girls are engaged in child labour.

In Guinea-Bissau, less than 7% of girls aged 15 are in the correct grade at school

In Pakistan, just 3% of girls aged 15-24 years have a comprehensive understanding of HIV

There is a significant gender imbalance in terms of HIV prevalence among young people. In Swaziland, 22.6% of girls and women aged 15-24 are HIV+, the highest prevalence among young women globally. Lesotho has the highest global prevalence of HIV among young men aged 15-24 years, at 5.9%.

In Niger, nearly 80% of young women currently aged 20-24 years have no education; by comparison 64% of young men have no education.

With this information, we can best see the areas and age groups that most need help. Awesome!