Our updated Youth Opportunity Index gives a detailed portrait of the opportunities and challenges for young people in England, broken down by local and combined authority. It shows where the opportunity gaps lie, and the difference between (and within) regions across England.
Beneath the headlines lie six million individual stories about young people. Their opportunities and outcomes vary significantly where they live.
We have analysed data for each of England’s local and combined authorities to quantify and better understand these inequalities. We have shown this through a new Youth Opportunity Index for England, updating our previous Index from 2018. This updated Index includes analysis at the combined authority level, bringing new insights into the opportunities young people have.
The Youth Opportunity Index brings together data on educational achievement at age 16 (Key Stage 4), attainment of Level 3 by age 19, access to higher education, take up of apprenticeships, employment rates, a measure of the quality of work (net underemployment), and the number of 16-17-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
It shows a diverse picture and allows us to dig down below the national figures to understand where the opportunity gaps are largest and what is driving them. They are the result of socioeconomic factors, economic circumstance and national policy, as well as local services.
Explore the data for England via an interactive map, by local education authority table, regional table, or combined authority table. The results can be filtered by specific region or specific subject.
The Index gives a relative measure of education and employment opportunities for young people across England’s local and combined authorities. The score for each area reflects how its performance compares with the best-performing area in the country; the higher the score, the better the performance. Results are presented as a heatmap, with darker shades representing higher scores.
Use this interactive map to explore the Youth Opportunity Index maps for local authorities. Hover over the map to see the index scores for a local authority, scroll to zoom in and out, or select a quartile to highlight local authorities with similar index scores for each measure.
Use the arrows below the map to explore different measures included in the Youth Opportunity Index.
Use this table to explore the ranked performance and scores of local areas for each index. These can be filtered by region or combined authority area using the drop-down menu below the table.
Use the arrows below the table to move between rank and score.
Use this table to explore the ranked performance and scores of local areas for each index. These can be filtered by region or combined authority area using the drop-down menu below the table.
Use the arrows below the table to move between rank and score.