- Zambian youth (aged 18-35) have more education than their elders. Almost two thirds (63%) have secondary or post-secondary qualifications, compared to 37%-43% among older cohorts.
- But youth are also more likely to be unemployed: More than half (54%) say they are looking for work, compared to 32%-40% of the middle-aged. o Aside from the country’s general economic situation and scarcity of jobs, young people cite a lack of adequate training, a mismatch between educational qualifications and job requirements, and a lack of experience required by employers as their most important barriers to employment. o Given their choice of jobs, about half (49%) of Zambian youth would like to start their own businesses. Next in popularity is working for the government or public sector (37%). o If the government could increase its spending on programmes to help youth, job creation would be young people’s top priority for greater investment, followed by access to business loans, education, and job training.
- The increasing cost of living is the most important problem that young Zambians say their government must address, followed by health, water supply, infrastructure/roads, and electricity.
- On these priority issues, youth offer mixed reviews of their government’s performance, ranging from strikingly low levels of approval on keeping prices stable (9%) and providing reliable electricity (12%) to majority approval on improving basic health services (62%) and creating jobs (57%).
- Majorities of young people see their country as moving in “the wrong direction” (70%) and describe as “fairly bad” or “very bad” both the country’s economic condition (75%) and their personal living conditions (62%). o Fewer than four in 10 youth (38%) think things will get better during the coming year.
- About one in three young Zambians (34%) say they have considered emigrating, most to find jobs or escape economic hardship.
About two-thirds of Zambia’s population is under the age of 25. With 15- to 35-year-olds making up 56% of the country’s labour force, youth hold the nation’s economic future in their hands (Malabo Montpellier Panel, 2024). The African Development Bank (2024) notes that despite the country’s substantial economic growth, job growth has not kept pace with the increasing number of young people entering the labour market.
Zambia’s National Action Plan for Improving and Strengthening the Skills Anticipation System (2023-2027) reports that, as of 2022, more than 3.3 million Zambian youth – or about half of the youth population – were categorised as “not in education, employment, or training” (NEET) (Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2022). The high NEET rate, contributing to increasing poverty among the youth, points to an urgent need for targeted government investment in job creation, education, and vocational training.
In response, the Zambian government’s National Youth Policy Implementation Plan emphasises the importance of providing resources for youth participation in sectors such as agriculture and tourism, alongside efforts to promote financial literacy and digital skills training. The plan also aims to strengthen youth leadership and environmental responsibility to foster an inclusive, skilled, and engaged youth workforce that is crucial for Zambia’s national development (Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, 2024).
The 2023 Global Youth Development Index ranks Zambia 152nd out of 183 countries on indicators of employment and opportunity, education, equality and inclusion, health and well-being, peace and security, and political and civic participation (Commonwealth, 2024).
The Afrobarometer Round 10 survey (2024) offers some insights into the situation of Zambia’s youth. Findings show that young people are more educated than their elders, but also more likely to be unemployed. The increasing cost of living is the most important priority for government action, according to young Zambians, followed by public services such as health, water supply, infrastructure/roads, and electricity.
While youth offer mixed assessments of the government’s performance on these priority issues, most see the country as headed in “the wrong direction.” Evaluations of economic and personal living conditions are largely negative. Only a minority of young people are optimistic that things will get better in the near future, and a growing share of youth say that they have contemplated emigration in search of better opportunities.