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The Centre for Quality of Life of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) released the latest MTR-CUHK Youth Quality of Life Index today (31 August 2017). The result indicates that the overall quality of life of youth in Hong Kong has improved in 2016/17 as compared with the corresponding period last year. 

The Index consists of 28 indicators that are grouped into 8 domains: Physical Health, Psychological Well-being, Society, Economics, Education, Politics, Living Environment, and Overall Well-being (Appendix 1). The indicators are selected according to their coverage, measurability, representativeness, and importance to the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong. 

2012/13 is the base year of the study and the MTR-CUHK Youth Quality of Life Index for that year was set at 100. If the Index of a subsequent year is above 100, it indicates that the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong in that year is better than that of the base year. If the index is below 100, it reveals that the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong in that year is worse than that of the base year. If the Index is 100, it indicates that the quality of life of youth in that year is the same as that of 2012/13. 

According to the latest MTR-CUHK Youth Quality of Life Index, the overall score in 2016/17 is 100.42, an increase of 1.31 points from the revised figure of 99.11 in 2015/16 (the figure for 2015/16 was revised downwards from 99.68, based on updated governmental statistics issued after the 2015/16 index was published) and an increase of 0.42 points from 2012/2013 (base year), indicating that the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong marginally improved and was the highest in 5 years (Appendix 2). 

The latest index shows the domains of Psychological Well-being, Society, Economics, Education, Politics and Living Environment have improved, while the domains of Physical Health and Overall Well-being have declined (Appendix 2). 

Compared with last year’s figures, 15 out of the 28 indicators have improved (Appendix 3), among which the improvement in ‘youth crime rate’ and ‘drug abuse behavior’ were noticeable with a 9.69% and 9.67% increase, respectively. Other indicators like ‘rule of law’, ‘participation rate in UGC tertiary programmes’, ‘youth unemployment’ and ‘opportunity for development’ have also improved in the past 12 months. 

12 out of the 28 indicators have worsened (Appendix 4), among which ‘Exercise participation’ was the most noticeable with a decline of 7.45%. Other indicators, such as ‘social services participation’, ‘satisfaction with living environment’, ‘material life’ and ‘self-evaluation’ have also fallen in 2016/17. 

Reviewing all the indicators from 2012/13 to 2016/17 (The higher the score, the better the performance of the indicator), it is noteworthy that ‘mental health’, ‘youth crime rate’, ‘degree of bullying’, ‘drug abuse behavior’, ‘index of current economic conditions’, ‘participation rate in UGC tertiary programmes’, ‘rule of law’ and ‘environmental quality’ increased to the highest in 5 years. However, ‘exercise participation’, ‘social services participation’, ‘social relationships’, ‘material life’, ‘perceived impact on policy’, ‘satisfaction with living environment’ and ‘general life satisfaction’ dropped to the lowest in 5 years. 

The compilation of the Index is sponsored by the MTR Corporation as part of its ongoing commitment to foster the development of the younger generation to meet future challenges. The Index is the only composite index to measure and keep track of the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong. Both the MTR Corporation and the Centre for Quality of Life, CUHK believe that the Index can provide policy makers and the community with a useful reference tool to devise appropriate policies and programmes for the betterment of youth and society at large. It also enhances public understanding of issues that may affect the quality of life of youth in Hong Kong. 

For more information on the MTR-CUHK Youth Quality of Life Index, please visit The Centre for Quality of Life website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/hkiaps/qol/en/youth.html.