青年强则国强:青年人口学前瞻与优化青年人口发展

A Nation Will Prosper Only When Its Young People Thrive:A Prospective Study of Youth Demography and Optimizing Youth Population Development

从当年梁启超发出历史呼号“少年强则国强”、李大钊提出“青春中华之创造”到如今党的二十大报告发出时代强音“青年强,则国家强”,显示了一脉相承的青少年与国家发展联系紧密的认识逻辑。本文回顾和界定了青年及青年人口学的内涵,认为青年可定义为“风险型人口”和“资源型人口”两大类,继而讨论了“青年强”的三重含义,即青年人口储备充足、青年人口素质卓越和青年人口红利丰厚,充分诠释了“青年强,则国家强”时代命题的深刻内涵。概言之,人尽其才则“青年强”,才尽其用则“国家强”。本文从国际比较的视角阐述了我国青年人口发展面临的问题和挑战,突出表现为:中国未来青年人口数量将长期处于缩减状态;青年人口的科学文化素质、身体健康素质和思想素质都有待“提质增效”;就业不充分,青年人口红利没有被充分释放。因此,要优化青年人口发展、进一步增强青年力量,采取相应的对策来强化青年人口储备、优化青年人口素质、极化青年人口红利、激发全人口活力。在人口负增长时代,建设适宜青年生存与发展的青年友好型社会极为必要,把解决青年问题作为解决低生育率等社会人口问题的重要突破口迫在眉睫。

From Liang Qichao s historical call for“A nation will be strong only when its juveniles are strong,”to Li Dazhao's proposal of“building youthful China,”and to the assertion on the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that“A nation will prosper only when its young people thrive,”there has shown a consistent cognitive logic that youth and national development are closely connected in China.This paper reviews and defines the essence of youth and youth demography.Youth can be broadly categorized into“population with risk”and“population with resource”.The three implications of“strong youth”include an adequate reserve of the youth population,outstanding quality of the youth population,and substantial youth population dividend.The profound implications of the era's proposition that“a nation will prosper only when its young people thrive”are fully elucidated.In summary,the full development of youth talents leads to the strength of the youth population,and the maximized utilization of youth talents leads to the prosperity of the nation.Issues and challenges facing China's youth population development are expounded from an international comparative perspective.Firstly,China's youth population is undergoing a prolonged period of reduction.Secondly,there is room for improvement in the scientific,cultural,physical,and moral qualities of the youth population.Thirdly,full employment has not been realized,and the youth dividend remains underutilized.Accordingly,measures should be implemented to strengthen youth population reserves,optimize the quality of the youth population,maximize the youth population dividend,and stimulate the vitality of the entire population.In an era of negative population growth,constructing a youth-friendly society conducive to the survival and development of young people is imperative.Addressing youth-related issues represents a critical breakthrough in solving societal population problems such as low birth rates.