South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in a January 2011 referendum to secede and become Africa's first new country since Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993.

The young state plunged into crisis in December 2013 amid a power struggle between the president and his deputy whom he had sacked.

Fighting between government troops and rebel factions erupted, and within weeks the conflict had killed thousands and prompted more than 800,000 to flee their homes. Oil production fell drastically.

In July, the newly independent Republic of South Sudan (RSS) secured statehood and immediately dropped to the bottom of the world's development indexes. Since schools were closed or destroyed throughout much of the population's childhood, about three-quarters of adults are unable read. Only 1 percent of households have a bank account. Half of Southern Sudanese (50.6%) live beneath the national poverty line of 72.6 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) per month and 47% are food deprived. As a result, the vast majority of South Sudanese face numerous challenges in securing sustainable livelihoods to support themselves and their families.

The huge influx of refugees and internally displaced people further complicated the existing political dynamics in the state. During the course of decades of war, millions of southerners fled north to escape the fighting and conflict. Since the 2005 CPA, those who fled have been returning back to their homes in the south. More than 350,000 individuals returned to South Sudan in 2011 alone.

With more than 70% of the population under the age of 30, the country’s stability and future development depends on its ability to target young people in its relief and development programming. By ensuring that these young people experience a safe, healthy, and productive transition to adulthood, South Sudan will also be on its way towards the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and ensuring internal stability. Particular attention to young women, such as those who are isolated due to traditional practices associated with bride wealth, will both build the skill base of young people and ensure gender equity in a new country.

Youth unemployment is high in South Sudan. Insufficient labour demand, lack of skilled labour supply, absence of a coherent government policy, and the lack of a sound legal and regulatory framework limit the absorption of youth by the labour market. [...]

Employers complain about the youth attitude to work as being utterly poor. This is true especially of the refugee and internally displaced persons, who have been affected by the legacy of donations and food support programmes by international NGOs carried out during the long period of war. Employers further complain that local youth seek high salaries and wages relative to the amount of work they are supposed to perform. Many job seekers equate themselves with the well organised, more experienced and better paid youth from neighbouring countries. [...]

The young people complain about foreign employers as being discriminatory, and domestic employers as uncommunicative. The youth become more disillusioned as much of the private sector employment sector is being dominated by foreign businesses and this problem could become a recipe for conflict if it is not addressed by policies. [...]

The majority of returning youths are from urban centres and are urbanised in their approach to life. Since their arrival in the rural areas following the massive transportation of returnees, more than 80% have left the rural areas where their parents have settled and migrated to urban centres all over South Sudan. This has created another crisis, as most of them have become idlers in the towns they have moved to resulting in the escalation of unemployment and petty crime in the towns. The loss of skills by the youth during the war period has also created a potential to participate in violence and crime. Sources of employment need to be identified for these young people. [...]