- Large majorities say their government is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” on keeping prices stable (82%), narrowing gaps between rich and poor (79%), creating jobs (76%), improving the living standards of the poor (73%), and managing the overall economy (64%) (Figure 1).
- Despite overwhelmingly negative performance ratings, tracking 28 countries between 2014 and 2025 reveals a modest turnaround on all five indicators in the most recent survey round (Figure 2).
- Six in 10 Africans (59%) describe their country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad” (Figure 3).
- About half (49%) of Africans say their personal living conditions are “fairly bad” or “very bad.”
- On average across 28 countries surveyed consistently since 2014, the share of respondents who describe their national economy as “fairly bad” or “very bad” has decreased by 7 percentage points compared to 2021/2023, though it remains 6 points higher than a decade ago (Figure 4).
- Unemployment ranks second among the most important problems that citizens say their governments should address, cited by 33% of respondents as one of their three priorities, behind only health (38%) (Figure 5).
- The increasing cost of living ranks joint-third (mentioned by 23% as a top priority), while poverty (10%), management of the economy (8%), and wages (5%) also place highly on citizens’ agenda.
- Material deprivation remains widespread across the continent, with majorities reporting shortages of essential goods during the previous year, including a cash income (79%), medical care (65%), food (58%), clean water (57%), and cooking fuel (52%) (Figure 6).
Africans’ ratings of their government’s performance on key economic issues have improved since the COVID-19 years, but they still remain overwhelmingly negative, the latest Afrobarometer Pan-Africa Profile shows.
Although perceptions of economic conditions have shown modest improvement in recent years, they remain more negative than they were a decade ago. About half citizens describe their personal living circumstances as bad.
The new report, based on 50,961 interviews across 38 African countries in 2024/2025, shows that unemployment and the increasing cost of living rank high among the most important problems that citizens want their government to address.
The report also highlights widespread deprivation: Majorities of Africans say they or a family member went without basic necessities such as a cash income, medical care, clean water, food, and cooking fuel at least once during the previous year.