Youth in Society Study 2026
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
The Youth in Society survey, led by Cifras y Conceptos, in partnership with Fundación Corona, LSE Cities – London School of Economics, the NextGenC (Connected Urban Generation) research project , Fundación Bolívar Davivienda and El Tiempo, offers an in-depth analysis of how young people in Colombia perceive democracy, political participation, education and employment.
Among the most relevant findings for the national situation, the survey applied to 3,221 young people between 18 and 32 years old in 46 municipalities of the country – reveals that:
61 % of young people consider it important to live in a democracy, but only 20% are satisfied with how it works.
Eighty percent of young people are interested in participating , and would do so if they saw tangible improvements in their community (38%). Seventy -four percent believe that Municipal Youth Councils have positive impacts on their future, revealing the importance of cities and local communities in strengthening democracy.
In mid-sized cities, 6 out of 10 young people say that participating in public decisions only makes sense if they can see direct impacts on their immediate environment.
Looking ahead to the 2026 elections, more than 70% have not yet decided how they will vote for the Presidency, which opens a critical window to strengthen information, civic education and pathways for youth participation.
In terms of participation, although a significant proportion of young people express interest in influencing public decisions, barriers such as lack of information (53%) and distrust in local government (39%) persist to participate.
54% of young people say they should have greater involvement in political decisions because they believe they can contribute new ideas and strengthen democracy.
The results also show that, while social media is widely used, democratic institutions and face-to-face interactions continue to generate higher levels of trust , reinforcing the importance of local and territorial spaces for participation.
