- Health tops the list of most important problems that young Africans want their government to address (cited by 37%), followed closely by unemployment (36%), increasing cost of living (24%), education (24%), infrastructure/roads (23%), and water supply (23%) (Figure 1).
- If the government could increase its spending on programmes to help young people, nearly half (48%) of Africans across 35 countries would prefer to target job creation. Smaller minorities would prioritise investment in education (16%), jobs training (14%), access to business loans (13%), and social services for youth (8%) (Figure 2).
- Given their choice of employment, more than half (53%) of youth say they would want to start their own business, while one-quarter (24%) would want to work for the government or in the public sector (Figure 3).
- A majority (55%) of young Africans have considered moving to another country, more than twice the proportion among those aged 56 years and above (22%) (Figure 4).
- Among 18- to 35-year-olds who have considered emigrating, the most common reason offered is to find work or better job opportunities (cited by 52%), while more than one-quarter (27%) would move to escape economic hardship or poverty (Figure 5).
- While more than six in 10 young Africans (63%) prefer democracy to any alternative form of government, fewer than four in 10 (38%) say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the way democracy works in their country (Figure 6).
Young Africans place health at the top of their list of issues for their government to address, followed closely by unemployment, the latest Afrobarometer survey findings reveal.
Other priorities include increasing cost of living, education, infrastructure, and water supply.
More than half of African youth say they have considered moving to another country at least “a little bit.” Among those who have considered emigrating, a majority say the most important reason for leaving is to search for work or better job opportunities, while more than one-quarter point to economic hardship or poverty.
If the government could increase its spending on programmes to help young people, almost half of all Africans surveyed believe job creation should be the highest priority for additional investment. Given their choice of employment, more than half of youth say they would want to start their own business, followed by one-quarter who would want to work for the government or in the public sector.
While more than six in 10 young Africans prefer democracy to any alternative form of government, fewer than four in 10 say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the way democracy works in their country.