, Columnist
Half a Billion Millennial Voters Are Face of Asia 2019
Many will cast their ballot for the first time as Indonesia and India go to the polls in the first half.
Jobs is the issue that will resonate most with younger voters.
Photographer: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images
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In the first half of 2019, a billion Asians will elect the next leaders of the region's two largest democracies.
Half – 400 million in India, and 79 million in Indonesia – are from the millennial generation, born roughly between 1982 and 2001. Many will cast ballots for the first time. Although the threat of sectarian hatred looms large over both the Indian and Indonesian elections, economics will still take center stage.