Young Lives

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.

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

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

• Longitudinal child poverty research
• International development studies
• Social science research
• Policy evidence generation
• Quantitative household surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• University of Oxford - Department of International DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung 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)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIDE 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 ServicecoreTechnology or IntegrationAll 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.
• UNICEFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF 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 BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld 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 EthiopiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/yloxford
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsZkpcrrolOvnzNG2X3lIjg
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Young-Lives-An-International-Study-of-Childhood-Poverty/232144236892777
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/younglivesstudy
• Instagraminstagram.com/younglives_oxford

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Young Lives