Young Lives
Young Lives is a University of Oxford longitudinal research project tracking 12,000 children across Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam since 2002, generating open-access evidence on child poverty, inequality, and climate shocks for policymakers, researchers, and development organizations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersOxford, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Young Lives does
Young Lives is a longitudinal research project studying child poverty and inequality, tracking 12,000 children across Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru, and Vietnam since 2002. It is hosted by the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) at the University of Oxford and operates as an international research consortium with country offices in Oxford, Addis Ababa, Lima (via partner GRADE / Niños del Milenio), Hyderabad, and Hanoi. The project follows two cohorts — an Older Cohort born 1994-95 and a Younger Cohort born 2001-02 — from early childhood through young adulthood, with seven quantitative survey rounds completed and a new Climate Change and Environmental Shocks Research Hub launched in 2024.
The core research product is a multi-country longitudinal mixed-methods dataset combining household and child surveys, qualitative interviews, school surveys, and Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) technology in local languages for sensitive topics. Supporting outputs include thematic research projects (employment, gender and education, sexual and reproductive health, cognitive skills, transitions to adulthood, and climate shocks), policy briefs, peer-reviewed publications, data visualisations, and multimedia storytelling. All survey data (Rounds 1-7) is publicly archived at the UK Data Service, and all publications are open access, with the data inventory doi: 10.5255/UKDASeries-2000060.
The business model is grant-funded non-profit research, not commercial revenue. Funding flows from bilateral donors (FCDO), foundations (Oak Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wellcome Trust), and multilateral or institutional partners (UNICEF, IDRC). End users are government policymakers, academic researchers, international development organizations, and NGOs; none pay for the data or publications, which are distributed free of charge. Recent strategic activity centers on the new Climate Hub, Round 7 data release in 2026, the 25-year legacy reports, and continued policy engagement with UNICEF, the World Bank, and country ministries such as Peru's MIDIS.
Young Lives firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Young Lives
- Legal name
- Young Lives
- Website
- https://younglives.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Young Lives is a University of Oxford longitudinal research project tracking 12,000 children across Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam since 2002, generating open-access evidence on child poverty, inequality, and climate shocks for policymakers, researchers, and development organizations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Young Lives industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Social Science Research
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early Childhood & Child Development Policy Research (EDADADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Maternal, Child & Reproductive Health Analytics (HLAJAJAF), Behavioral Health for Children & Adolescents (Youth Services) (HLAFACAL)
Keywords
Where Young Lives is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oxford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Young Lives business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Research Grants and Institutional Funding: Young Lives is primarily funded through grants from bilateral donors, foundations, and institutional funders. The organization operates as a non-profit research consortium hosted by the University of Oxford's Department of International Development, with dedicated funding pages for various research activities and initiatives.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Young Lives product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Young Lives is a longitudinal academic research study tracking 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru, and Vietnam since 2002, collecting quantitative household and child survey data across seven rounds alongside qualitative interviews, school surveys, and ACASI interviews. The study produces open-access publications, policy briefs, and a publicly archived dataset on childhood poverty, education, health, employment, and family lives, disseminated at no cost to governments, researchers, and international development organizations.
Product overview
Young Lives is a longitudinal research study, not a commercial product company. The organization operates as a single integrated research platform comprising multiple interconnected research products: the core longitudinal study tracking children across four countries, quantitative household surveys (Rounds 1-7) with data archived at UK Data Service, qualitative research components, school surveys, research projects focused on specific themes (employment, education, health, gender), the Climate Change and Environmental Shocks Research Hub, data visualization tools, multimedia resources, and published research outputs. These products collectively form a comprehensive research infrastructure designed to generate evidence on childhood poverty and inequality.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Young Lives Longitudinal Study A unique longitudinal research study tracking 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam since 2002, providing over two decades of data on poverty and inequality dynamics from early childhood through young adulthood. The study is hosted at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development and targets governments, international development organizations, and academic researchers.
- Household and Child Survey Data Quantitative survey data collected across multiple rounds (Rounds 1-7), tracking children's health, education, employment, family circumstances, and well-being outcomes over time, designed for use by academic researchers, governments, and development organizations.
- Young Lives Rounds 1-7 Data Inventory Comprehensive inventory of all publicly available Young Lives survey data, accessible via the UK Data Service, covering quantitative data from seven rounds of household and child surveys, available to registered researchers worldwide.
- Research Projects Specific thematic research initiatives within Young Lives including Young Lives At Work (YLAW), Gender and Education, Sexual and Reproductive Health Inequalities, Cognitive Skills Development, Health Risks of Early Life Obesity, and Transitions to Adulthood studies, targeting academic, policy, and development audiences.
- Young Lives Research Hub on Climate Change and Environmental Shocks A dedicated research hub generating policy-relevant evidence on the long-term effects of climate shocks and extreme weather on human development across the life course and across two generations of children and young people in study countries.
- Qualitative Research Qualitative research components including interviews, focus groups, and case studies that provide deeper insights into children's lived experiences alongside the quantitative survey data, used by researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners.
- School Survey Education-focused surveys conducted in schools across Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam to assess learning outcomes and educational quality, used by academic researchers and education policymakers.
- Data Visualisations Interactive and static visualizations presenting Young Lives findings on education, gender, nutrition, skills and work, and wealth index across study countries, used by researchers, policymakers, and the public.
- Publications Research outputs including journal articles, policy papers, working papers, technical notes, country reports, and summative evaluations published by the Young Lives research team, available open access to academic, policy, and development audiences.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20+ years of continuous longitudinal data collection across 4 countries
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Young Lives
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Young Lives technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Young Lives partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- University of Oxford - Department of International DevelopmentcoreYoung Lives is hosted by the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) at Queen Elizabeth House. The department provides institutional affiliation, infrastructure, and academic oversight for the research consortium.
- Niños del Milenio (GRADE)coreYoung Lives Peru operates through its partner organization Niños del Milenio, hosted at GRADE (Group for the Analysis of Development) in Lima. Santiago Cueto serves as Country Director.
- Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WIDE)minorWIDE is a longitudinal study of community change in rural Ethiopia. Dr. Alula Pankhurst is also a lead researcher for WIDE, linking Young Lives Ethiopia with this parallel research initiative at University of Bath.
- UK Data ServicecoreAll Young Lives survey data (Rounds 1-7) is publicly archived and accessible via the UK Data Service, enabling global researcher access to the longitudinal dataset.
- UNICEFmajorUNICEF partners with Young Lives on policy research, including UNICEF Peru's Week of Inclusion events and joint publications with UNICEF Ethiopia. Young Lives research informs UNICEF's global child welfare advocacy and programming.
- World BankmajorWorld Bank has cited Young Lives data in publications on human capital development, indicating active use of Young Lives evidence in international development policy analysis.
- UNICEF EthiopiamajorPartnership on Ethiopian research including joint publications on violence affecting children, early marriage, early childhood development, and adolescence. Produced five research briefs in collaboration.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Young Lives competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program: USAID-funded multi-country household survey program generating comparable cross-country data on child health, education, and poverty in developing countries - analogous cross-country comparative infrastructure.
- National Child Development Study (NCDS, UK): Long-running UK birth-cohort study following everyone born in one week of 1958 through adulthood. Closest analog in life-course design and evidence-based policy use.
- Millennium Cohort Study (MCS, UK): UK longitudinal study following ~19,000 children born 2000-2002, sharing nearly identical cohort timing and multi-wave design. Closest direct methodological peer to Young Lives, also hosted at a UK university (UCL).
- GRADE (Group for the Analysis of Development): Peruvian development research NGO that hosts Young Lives' Peru country office through Niños del Milenio. Operates similar longitudinal and policy-oriented research in Latin America.
Broad incumbents
- J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): MIT-based global poverty research network conducting randomized evaluations in developing countries. Comparable as a multi-country research consortium producing poverty evidence for policymakers.
- Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Large development economics research NGO running randomized evaluations across dozens of developing countries. Comparable as a research-driven evidence generator informing poverty policy, but focused on impact evaluation rather than longitudinal observation.
- UNICEF Innocenti - Office of Research: UNICEF's dedicated child-wellbeing research office producing global evidence on children's lives. Overlapping funder and policy-customer with Young Lives; a strategic institutional peer for international child-research authority.
Regional players
- Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS): UNICEF-managed global household survey program producing comparable cross-country child and maternal indicators. Functions as a partial substitute for Young Lives-style cross-country child poverty data at lower depth per country.
- Born in Bradford (BiB): UK-based longitudinal birth-cohort study tracking ~12,000 children with strong policy and health-system integration. Comparable cohort size and birth-to-adulthood design, though single-city and high-income context.
Emerging players
- Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) / WIDE: University of Bath longitudinal study of community change in rural Ethiopia that already has direct researcher overlap with Young Lives Ethiopia (Dr. Alula Pankhurst). Comparable multi-year mixed-methods design in a single developing country.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Young Lives social profiles
Digital presenceYoung Lives compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Young Lives financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Young Lives leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Young Lives funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Young Lives M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Young Lives
What does Young Lives do?
Young Lives is a longitudinal academic research study tracking 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru, and Vietnam since 2002, collecting quantitative household and child survey data across seven rounds alongside qualitative interviews, school surveys, and ACASI interviews. The study produces open-access publications, policy briefs, and a publicly archived dataset on childhood poverty, education, health, employment, and family lives, disseminated at no cost to governments, researchers, and international development organizations.
Is Young Lives a public or private company?
Young Lives is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Young Lives founded?
Young Lives was founded in 2002. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Young Lives based?
Young Lives is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Young Lives make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Grants and Institutional Funding.
Who are Young Lives's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program, National Child Development Study (NCDS, UK), Millennium Cohort Study (MCS, UK) and GRADE (Group for the Analysis of Development). Broad incumbents are J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and UNICEF Innocenti - Office of Research. Regional players are Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Born in Bradford (BiB). Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) / WIDE is listed as an emerging player.
Does Young Lives have an API?
No public API is recorded for Young Lives.
What industry is Young Lives in?
Young Lives's product category is Academic Social Science Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADADAJ, Early Childhood & Child Development Policy Research, with a secondary code of HLAJAJAF, Maternal, Child & Reproductive Health Analytics. Its NAICS code is 54172.