There was an increase in the number of young people joining the various youth organisations last year, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office, which showed that membership rose by 1.1 per cent, from 53,633 in 2002 to 54,215 in 2003.

The greatest percentage of members of youth organisations, 20.5 per cent, were aged 15-19 years, followed by those aged 5-9 years at 19.5 per cent.

Between 2002 and 2003, voluntary participation in youth organisations increased by 2.5 per cent. Of the volunteers, 65.1 per cent were members of the organisation itself.

The sphere of youth organisation activities is dominated by religious events, with a share of 21.2 per cent, followed by social activities, at 18.7 per cent, educational activities, 18.3 per cent and cultural activities - 16.6 per cent.

Of the total youth population aged 5-29 years, in 2003, 34.1 per cent, or 46,896 of 137,703, were engaged in various youth organisations, an increase of 0.5 per cent over 2002.

The age brackets of 5-9 years and 15-19 years highlighted the most interested groups in youth organisation membership, with 44.3 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of persons in these age brackets being members of a youth organisation.

Expenditure on youth organisations increased in 2003, from Lm371,093 in 2002 to Lm384,099, an increase of 3.5 per cent. Over half the expenditure was classified as "other expenditure", that is, it did not fall into any of the listed categories, such as expenditure on activities, donations to charity and everyday running expenses.

Income by youth organisations has also increased, from Lm391,698 in 2002 to Lm422,733 in 2003, an increase of 7.9 per cent. Again, the lion's share of income was from "other income", such as income from activities and through fund raising. Twenty-six per cent of income was generated from private donations.

In 2003, youth organisations as a whole reported a net profit of Lm38,634.