- Youth (aged 18-35) in Tanzania are significantly more educated than their elders: 41% report having secondary or post-secondary education, more than twice the share among older cohorts.
- But youth are also more likely to be unemployed: One in four young citizens (26%) say they are not employed and are actively looking for work, compared to 8%-15% of older respondents. o Aside from the country’s economic situation and scarcity of jobs, young people cite a lack of entrepreneurial skills or motivation, an aversion to certain types of work, and inadequate training as major barriers to youth employment.
- Two-thirds (66%) of youth would like to start their own businesses.
- Job creation would be young citizens’ top priority for additional government spending to help young people.
- Health ranks as the most important problem that Tanzanian youth want their government to address, followed by water supply, infrastructure/roads, electricity, and education. Unemployment ranks sixth.
- On these key priorities, majorities of youth give the government favourable ratings on its performance, ranging from slightly more than half (52%) on job creation to an overwhelming 83% on education.
- Three-fourths (74%) of youth believe Tanzania is headed in “the right direction.”
- But economic assessments are less rosy: Only 44% and 35% of youth, respectively, are satisfied with the country’s economic situation and their personal living conditions.
- About one in eight youth (12%) have given emigration at least “a little” consideration. Jobs and escaping economic hardship top the list of reasons.
Tanzania’s future holds abundant promise if it can harness the power of its youthful population to drive inclusive economic growth. Youth (aged 15-35 years) make up 34.5% of the population, giving Tanzania one of the youngest labour-force structures in the world (National Bureau of Statistics, 2022).
If sustainable development in East Africa hinges on youth-centred job creation, skills training, and inclusive labour policies (International Labour Organisation, 2021), Tanzania’s long-term prospects depend on its ability to create more and better jobs for the approximately 800,000 young people who enter the labour market each year (World Bank, 2021). The informal sector employs most of the country’s workforce – with estimates ranging from 72% to more than 80% (Tanzania Investment and Consulting Group Ltd., 2025; Giliard & Msangi, 2025) and contributes more than half of its gross domestic product, highlighting its central role in the economy.
The 2023 Global Youth Development Index ranks Tanzania as a “low youth development” country on indicators of employment and opportunity, education, equality and inclusion, health and well-being, peace and security, and political and civic participation (Commonwealth, 2024). Tanzanian youth contend with high rates of poverty, limited access to quality education and resultant low literacy levels, particularly in rural areas (United Nations Development Programme, 2022). According to the World Bank (2021), a significant portion of young people enter the labour market each year with low academic qualifications and limited skills, which constrains their employability in a competitive economy.
Recognising these challenges, the government has implemented several youth-focused policies and programmes, including the National Youth Development Policy (2007), which aims to promote youth employment, entrepreneurship, and skills development. The National Five-Year Development Plan 2021/22-2025/26 also emphasises youth employment, skills training, and poverty reduction as critical priorities to harness the demographic dividend (United Republic of Tanzania, 2021).
The Afrobarometer Round 10 survey (2024) offers some insights into the situation of Tanzania’s youth. Findings show that while young citizens have more education than their elders, they are also more likely to be unemployed. Two-thirds of young Tanzanians say they would like to start their own business, but they also see job creation as the most important way the government could help young people.
On their top priorities for government action – including health, water supply, infrastructure/roads, electricity, education, and job creation – young citizens give the government positive performance reviews, and a majority see the country as moving in “the right direction.” But their assessments of economic and living conditions are less positive, and economic opportunity tops of the list of reasons that some youth have considered emigrating.
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