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Sebastian Kurz
- From Europe to the United States to Africa, the last decade has seen more young people getting actively involved in
politics and even becoming elected officials themselves. - The world's current youngest leader is Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, 32.
- In the United States, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress at age 29. Many nations have members of parliament who are as young as 22.
- Here are some of the youngest politicians around the world.
The past several years have seen a marked increase in young people getting involved in politics and running for office from the United States to Europe and Africa.
In Europe, the aftermath of the global financial crisis inspired both right-wing populist movements led by young people, like the Five Star movement in Italy, and left-wing populist movements including Spain's Podemos party.
In the United States, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress at age 29, but many nations have members of parliament who are as young as 22.
The last American election cycle saw the number of millennials increase by over 300% in the US Congress, with around 700 millennials running for state legislative seats around the country.
Read more: 8 of the most influential millennial women in US politics
And in Europe, more leaders under the age of 40 like Austria's Sebastian Kurz, France's Emmanuel Macron, and Ireland's Leo Varadkar have come to power, and parliaments in countries like France and Spain are getting younger and more diverse.
In Africa, Asia, and Australia, young people are also running for office, rising up through the ranks of government, and making history.
Here are some of the youngest politicians around the world: