Yousafzai, 17, the youngest Nobel winner, is from Pakistan, and Satyarthi, 60, is from India — adding significance to the award, given the tumultuous history between those two nations.
The committee "regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism," it said.
In 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen but recovered to advocate for education for girls around the world.
Satyarthi, the Nobel committee said, has spent a lifetime "focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain." The committee said Satyarthi was "maintaining (Mahatma) Gandhi's tradition."
From Ukraine to the Islamic State to Israel-Gaza and Ebola — 2014 has seen the world stumble from one peace-defying crisis to another.
That just means there's been no shortage of raw material for Norway's Nobel committee to work with, said Øivind Stenersen, a historian of the prize.
"There's always talk that with the world so full of troubles, it's time to just drop the prize because everything is in chaos, but I must say in times like these, the prize has a really important role," said Stenersen, who runs Nobeliana, a publishing company devoted to the Nobel awards.
"It gives us hope it's possible to find solutions to really difficult problems," Stenersen said.
Each year since 1901, the committee has recognized, in Alfred Nobel's words, "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Over time, the committee has widened its eligibility requirements to include efforts to improve human rights, fight poverty and clean up the environment.
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