- South African youth (aged 18-35) are almost twice as likely as the elderly (56 years and above) to have secondary or post-secondary education (97% vs. 50%).
- Youth are more likely than older generations to be unemployed: Almost half (47%) say they are not employed and are looking for work, vs. 38% of 36- to-55-year-olds. o Aside from general economic conditions, the primary barriers to youth employment, according to young South Africans, are a lack of work experience, insufficient training, and an aversion to certain types of jobs.
- Nearly half (45%) of youth would prefer to work in government or the public sector. Only half as many (23%) would like to start their own business, the second-lowest proportion among 38 countries surveyed by Afrobarometer.
- Job creation is young citizens’ top priority for additional government spending to help young people.
- Unemployment ranks as the most important problem that South African youth want their government to address (cited by 63% of young respondents), followed by crime and security (30%), water supply (29%), infrastructure/roads (26%), and health (21%).
- Majorities of youth give the government negative ratings for its performance on their key priorities, including more than nine in 10 who say the government is failing to create jobs (96%), reduce crime (92%), and effectively fight corruption (91%).
- More than eight in 10 youth (84%) believe South Africa is headed in “the wrong direction.” o Economic assessments are also pessimistic: Only minorities of youth are satisfied with the country’s economic situation (22%) and their personal living conditions (41%).
- Three in 10 youth (30%) have considered moving abroad. o Finding better job opportunities tops the list of reasons to move.
Youth in South Africa increasingly face the prospect of joblessness. According to Statistics South Africa (2025a), the unemployment rate among 15- to 34-year-olds increased from 36.8% in 2014 to 45.5% in 2024. In total, 43.2% of 15- to 34-year-olds were not in employment, education, or training in 2024, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to a decade earlier.
Dependence on social grants among those aged 15-24 grew more than sevenfold between 2009 (4.8%) and 2024 (35.9%) (Statistics South Africa, 2025b). Over the same period, the share of those aged 25-34 who received social grants rose from 3.7% to 19.2%. In the first quarter of
2025, 2 million of the country’s 3.5 million discouraged work-seekers were youth aged 15-34 years.
In 2020, 2.6 million young people (15-34 years) lived in households that experienced hunger. In terms of service provision, 61.6% of youth had waste removed by their local municipality, while 72.9% had access to piped water, 81.9% had access to improved sanitation (i.e. flush toilets or pit toilets with ventilation pipes), and 92.6% had access to electricity connected to
the mains. Across these measures, the average young South African’s living conditions are marginally lower than the overall population’s (National Youth Development Agency, 2022).
The 2023 Global Youth Development Index, which tracks indicators of education, employment and opportunity, health and well-being, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation, ranks South Africa as a medium youth development country (Commonwealth, 2024).
Ahead of Africa Youth Day (1 November), Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey (2025) offers insights into the situation of South Africa’s youth (defined here as ages 18-35).
Findings show that while almost all young adults have attended secondary school, they are more likely than their elders to be unemployed.
If given the choice, nearly half of young South Africans say they would like to work for the government or in the public sector, while a majority see investment in job creation as the most important way the government could help young people.
Indeed, youth cite unemployment as their top priority for government action, followed by crime and security, the supply of water, infrastructure, and health. On all of these issues (and more), young citizens give the government negative performance reviews.
Young adults are highly pessimistic about the state of the country: More than eight in 10 see the country as moving in “the wrong direction,” and only half as many expect economic conditions to improve in 12 months’ time.
Three in 10 have considered emigrating, most often in pursuit of better job opportunities.