Is Africa’s youth engaged enough to be empowered?

WWW.AFROBAROMETER.ORG
Is Africa’s youth engaged enough
to be empowered?
Results from Afrobarometer Round 6 surveys in 36 African countries
12 August 2016, Johannesburg, South Africa

At a glance
■ Political and civic engagement is generally lower among African youth
than among their elders, particularly in terms of voting.
■ Attendance at campaign rallies is the most popular form of pre-
electoral engagement among young Africans.
■ Youth participation in demonstrations and protest marches is lower
than in more conventional forms of civic and political engagement.
■ On most indicators, young women report lower engagement levels than
young men. In particular, female youth report significantly less interest
in public affairs and discussion of politics.
■ Youth engagement levels have declined since 2005/2006, particularly
interest in public affairs and measures of civic activism.

At a glance

What is Afrobarometer?
• A pan-African, non-partisan survey research project that measures
citizen attitudes on democracy and governance, the economy, civil
society, and other topics.
• Started in 12 countries in 1999, expanded to 35 African countries in
Round 5 (2011-2013) and to 36 countries in Round 6 (2014-2015).
• Goal: To give the public a voice in policymaking by providing high-
quality public opinion data to policymakers, policy advocates, civil
society organizations, academics, news media, donors and investors,
and ordinary Africans.
• A national partner in each country conducts the survey.

Where Afrobarometer works

Methodology
• Nationally representative sample of adult citizens
– All respondents are randomly selected.
– Sample is distributed across regions/states/provinces and urban/rural areas in
proportion to their share in the national population.
– Every adult citizen has an equal chance of being selected.
• Face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.
• Standard questionnaire allows comparisons across countries and over
time.
• Sample sizes of either 2,400 or 1,200 adult citizens per country yield
results with a country-level margin of sampling error of +/-2% or
+/-3%, respectively, at a 95% confidence level.

Round 6 global releases
• Round 6 (2014/2015) includes almost 54,000 respondents in 36
countries, representing more than 3/4 of the continent’s population.
• Previous global releases (see www.afrobarometer.org):
– Citizens’ priorities
– Infrastructure development
– Lived poverty
– Tolerance
– Electrification
• Upcoming global releases include:
– Elections
– Leadership performance
– Access to justice
– Africa’s middle class
– Africa’s middle class
– Corruption and
trustworthy institutions
– Democracy
– Water and sanitation
– Health care
– News media
– Regional integration

Interest in and discussion of
public affairs

Key results
■ Slightly more than half (53%) of African youth report being
“very” or “somewhat” interested in public affairs.
■ Two-thirds (67%) of youth say they discuss politics with
friends or family “occasionally” or “frequently.”
■ Youth report slightly lower interest than their older peers
(53% vs. 58%) and the same level of discussion (both 67%).
■ Compared to young men, young women report significantly
less interest (48% vs. 60%) and discussion (61% vs. 74%)
levels.

Interest in public affairs
| 18- to 35-year-olds |
36 countries |
2014/2015
Respondents were
asked: How
interested would you
say you are in public
affairs?
(% “very interested”
or “somewhat
interested”)
44%
51%
53%
58%
58%
24%
34%
44%
46%
46%
48%
48%
49%
49%
49%
50%
50%
50%
50%
51%
51%
53%
53%
53%
54%
55%
55%
55%
56%
56%
57%
57%
57%
58%
58%
60%
61%
65%
68%
69%
71%
73%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Central Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
North Africa
Côte d'Ivoire
Gabon
Togo
Tanzania
Algeria
Cameroon
Kenya
Guinea
Zimbabwe
Mauritius
São Tomé and Príncipe
Swaziland
Liberia
Benin
Burundi
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Madagascar
Average
Morocco
Cape Verde
Ghana
South Africa
Mozambique
Niger
Burkina Faso
Senegal
Zambia
Mali
Nigeria
Lesotho
Namibia
Botswana
Uganda
Egypt
Malawi
Tunisia

Interest in public affairs | by employment status, lived poverty,
education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence | 18- to 35-year-olds
| 36 countries | 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: How interested would you say you are in public affairs? (% “very
interested” or “somewhat interested”)
53%
53%
54%
48%
60%
51%
55%
47%
50%
52%
65%
48%
52%
55%
57%
49%
53%
55%
59%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Moderate lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Not employed (not looking)
Not employed (looking)
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Discussion of politics
36 countries |
2014/2015
Respondents were
asked: When you
get together with
your friends or family,
would you say you
discuss political
matters frequently,
occasionally, or
never?
14%
15%
19%
19%
21%
8%
9%
10%
11%
11%
12%
13%
14%
14%
14%
15%
15%
16%
16%
16%
16%
16%
17%
17%
17%
18%
18%
18%
18%
20%
21%
21%
21%
22%
23%
23%
23%
25%
26%
29%
30%
38%
53%
46%
48%
48%
53%
54%
49%
48%
53%
49%
56%
47%
47%
45%
56%
47%
54%
48%
41%
49%
39%
37%
54%
48%
52%
56%
49%
42%
54%
38%
63%
62%
40%
53%
55%
50%
47%
44%
40%
55%
42%
38%
30%
38%
33%
31%
25%
36%
42%
42%
36%
39%
28%
40%
38%
37%
23%
34%
30%
35%
40%
34%
44%
46%
28%
35%
31%
26%
32%
36%
27%
42%
16%
16%
34%
25%
22%
25%
29%
32%
34%
16%
27%
24%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
North Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
Algeria
Madagascar
Tanzania
Mauritius
Côte d'Ivoire
Morocco
Swaziland
Togo
Mozambique
Egypt
Sudan
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Cape Verde
Uganda
Burundi
Guinea
Kenya
Namibia
Benin
Average
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Burkina Faso
Niger
Nigeria
Liberia
Tunisia
Gabon
Cameroon
Botswana
Mali
Ghana
Senegal
Lesotho
Malawi
Frequently Occasionally Never

Discussion of politics | by employment status, lived poverty,
education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence | 18-
to 35-year-olds | 36 countries | 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: When you get together with your friends or family, would you say you discuss
political matters frequently, occasionally, or never? (% “frequently” or “occasionally”)
67%
70%
64%
61%
74%
65%
69%
56%
61%
68%
80%
64%
67%
68%
67%
62%
67%
70%
72%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Trends in interest in and discussion of public
affairs | 18- to 35-year-olds | 16 countries | 2002/2015
Respondents were asked:
1. How interested would you say you are in public affairs? (% “very interested” or “somewhat interested”)
2. When you get together with your friends or family, would you say you discuss political matters frequently, occasionally, or
never? (% “occasionally” or “frequently”)
81%
67%
62% 60% 58%
60%
70% 71% 70% 69%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2002/2003 2005/2006 2008/2009 2011/2013 2014/2015
Very/Somewhat interested in public affairs Discuss politics occasionally/frequently

Electoral participation

Key results
■ Two-thirds (65%) of 18- to 35–year-old respondents who
were old enough to vote in the last national election say
they did so, compared to 79% of citizens above age 35.
■ Attendance at campaign rallies is the most popular form of
pre-electoral engagement among Africans of all ages. Youth
are slightly less likely to participate than older citizens (33%
vs. 37%).
■ Young women’s attendance at rallies lagged behind that of
men (by 9 percentage points), while there was no significant
difference in voting rates (2 points).

Voting in elections | by region | 18- to 35-year-olds | 35
countries | 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: Understanding that some people were unable to vote in the most recent
national election in [20XX], which of the following statements is true for you? (Notes: This question
was not asked in Senegal. Results exclude respondents who say they were not old enough to vote.)
65%
46%
55%
68%
70%
73%
10%
19%
15%
10%
7%
9%
10%
18%
15%
9%
7%
5%
14%
17%
14%
13%
15%
13%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Average
North Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Voted in the elections Not registered to vote Decided not to vote Did not vote for other reason

Voted in last election | by employment status, lived poverty,
education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence |
18- to 35-year-olds | 35 countries | 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: Understanding that some people were unable to vote in the most recent
national election in [20XX], which of the following statements is true for you? (% “voted in the last
election”)
(Notes: This question was not asked in Senegal. Results exclude respondents who say they were
not old enough to vote.)
65%
61%
68%
64%
66%
56%
70%
71%
67%
64%
60%
63%
65%
66%
66%
64%
62%
64%
70%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Pre-election engagement | by region | 18- to 35-year-olds | 36
Respondents were asked: Thinking about the last national election in [20XX], did you: Attend a
campaign rally? Attend a meeting with a candidate or campaign staff? Try to persuade others to vote
for a certain legislative candidate or political party? Work for a candidate or party? (% “yes”)
42%
45%
34%
30%
22%
33%
39%
27%
30%
17% 16%
25%
30%
22%
25%
16% 17%
21%
17%
12%
17%
8%
10%
13%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Central Africa East Africa West Africa Southern Africa North Africa 36-country
average
Attended campaign rally Attended campaign meeting
Persuaded others to vote for candidate/party Worked for candidate or party

Attendance at a campaign rally | by employment status, lived
poverty, education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence | 18- to
35-year-olds | 36 countries | 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: Thinking about the last national election in [20XX], did you attend a
campaign rally? (% “yes”)
33%
31%
35%
29%
38%
30%
36%
29%
35%
35%
32%
36%
36%
33%
29%
29%
34%
37%
37%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Civic engagement

Key results
■ African youth are less likely than their elders to participate in civic
activities.
■ Less than half (47%) say they attended community meetings at
least once during the previous year, vs. 57% of older citizens.
■ 40% joined others to raise an issue, vs. 47% of older citizens.
■ Not quite half (48%) of youth say they contacted political or community
leaders during the previous year to discuss an important issue,
compared to 56% of older citizens.
■ Young women are significantly less engaged than young men on the
two measures of civic activism (49% vs. 58%) and contacting leaders
(43% vs. 53%).

Active membership and civic activism | by region | 18-
to 35-year-olds | 36 countries | 2014/2015
1. Now I am going to read out a list of groups that people join or attend. For each one, could you tell me whether
you are an official leader, an active member, an inactive member, or not a member: A religious group that meets
outside of regular worship services? Some other voluntary association or community group? (% “active member”
or “official leader”)
2. Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each of these, please tell me whether you,
personally, have done any of these things during the past year: Attended a community meeting? Got together
with others to raise an issue? (% “yes”)
31%
25% 24%
34%
8%
26%25% 23%
20%
14% 14%
19%
56%
49%
42%
50%
30%
47%
42% 43%
49%
37%
31%
40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
East Africa West Africa Central Africa Southern Africa North Africa 36-country
average
Official leader/Active member of religious group
Official leader/Active member of voluntary association or community group
Attended a community meeting
Joined others to raise an issue

Civic activism | by employment status, lived poverty, education, age,
gender and urban/rural location | 18- to 35-year-olds | 36
Respondents were asked: Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each
of these, please tell me whether you, personally, have done any of these things during the past year:
Attended a community meeting? Got together with others to raise an issue?
(% who attended a community meeting and/or joined others to raise an issue)
54%
46%
60%
49%
58%
48%
58%
53%
57%
52%
53%
62%
60%
52%
39%
51%
56%
58%
52%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Declining youth civic engagement | 18- to 35-year-olds |
16 countries |2002/2015
1. Now I am going to read out a list of groups that people join or attend. For each one, could you tell me whether
you are an official leader, an active member, an inactive member, or not a member?
2. Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each of these, please tell me whether you,
personally, have done any of these things during the past year. (% “yes”)
50% 49%
45%
34% 34%
21% 20% 19%
63%
60%
57% 56%
51%
49%
47%
49%
51%
38%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2002/2003 2005/2006 2008/2009 2011/2013 2014/2015
Official leader/Active member of religious group
Official leader/Active member of voluntary association
Attended a community meeting
Joined others to raise an issue

Contact with political and community leaders | by region |
Respondents were asked: During the past year, how often have you contacted any of the following persons about
some important problem or to give them your views? 1) A local government councillor (not asked in Malawi); 2) A
member of Parliament (not asked in Egypt); 3) An official of a government agency; 4) A political party official (not
asked in Swaziland); 5) Traditional leaders (not asked in Cape Verde, Mauritius, and São Tomé and Príncipe); 6)
Religious leaders
(% “yes”)
East
Africa
Central
Africa
Southern
Africa
West
Africa
North
Africa
Average
Contacted at least one
leader
56% 50% 50% 46% 40% 48%
Religious leader 43% 38% 34% 34% 24% 34%
Political party official 28% 23% 29% 25% 22% 26%
Traditional leader 28% 23% 29% 25% 22% 26%
Local govt councillor 19% 17% 19% 18% 20% 19%
Official of govt agency 16% 10% 10% 10% 23% 12%
Member of Parliament 9% 11% 9% 10% 8% 10%

Contact with political and community leaders | by employment status,
lived poverty, education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence | 18- to
35-year-olds | 36 countries | 2014/2015
(Figure shows % of respondents who had contact with at least one political or community leader in
the previous year)
48%
43%
51%
43%
53%
43%
52%
42%
49%
47%
51%
52%
52%
49%
37%
42%
50%
53%
50%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Protest activity

Key results
■ African youth report relatively low levels of engagement in these
activities compared to measures of electoral and civic engagement.
■ On average, the highest protest participation levels are for joining others
in their communities to request government action (21% say they did so
in the previous year), while the lowest are for refusing to pay a tax or fee
(5%).
■ Youth are more likely to participate in demonstrations or protest marches
than their elders (11% vs. 8%). Furthermore, young men report higher
participation levels than their female peers (13% vs. 8%).
■ Participation in demonstrations was highest in Central Africa (16%),
followed by North Africa (15%), West Africa (12%), Southern Africa (7%),
and East Africa (6%).

Protest activity | 18- to 35-year-olds | 36 countries
| 2014/2015
Respondents were asked: Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens when they are dissatisfied
with government performance. For each of these, please tell me whether you, personally, have done any of these
things during the past year. If not, would you do this if you had the chance?
Yes
No, but
would if
had the
chance
No, would
never do
this
Don't
know
Joined others in your community to request
action from government
21% 59% 19% 1%
Contacted a government official to ask for
help or make a complaint
13% 62% 24% 1%
Contacted the media, like calling a radio
program or writing a letter to a newspaper
12% 61% 25% 1%
Participated in a demonstration or protest
march
11% 38% 49% 2%
Refused to pay a tax or fee to government 5% 23% 68% 3%

Protest activity | by region | 18- to 35-year-olds | 36
things during the past year. If not, would you do this if you had the chance?
(% “yes”)
22%
27%
21%
17%
20%
15%
18%
12%
13% 12%
14%
12%
14%
12%
9%
16%
6%
12%
15%
7%
6%
4%
6% 7%
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Central Africa East Africa West Africa North Africa Southern Africa
Joined others to request government action Contacted official
Contacted media Participated in demonstration or protest march
Refused to pay tax or fee

Participation in a demonstration or protest march | by employment
status, lived poverty, education, age, gender, and urban-rural residence |
things during the past year: Participated in a demonstration or protest march? (% “yes”)
11%
13%
9%
8%
13%
11%
10%
7%
7%
11%
17%
11%
11%
10%
10%
10%
11%
12%
11%
0% 10% 20% 30%
Average
Urban
Rural
Female
Male
18-25 years
26-35 years
No formal education
Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary
High lived poverty
Low lived poverty
No lived poverty
Employed, part time
Employed, full time

Gender gaps in youth political
engagement

Gender gaps in youth political engagement | 36 countries |
2014/2015
* Rounded numbers may result in an apparent 1-percentage-point discrepancy.
Young African women are less likely to… Male Female
% point
difference
Discuss politics “frequently” or “occasionally” 74% 61% 13
Be “very” or “somewhat” interested in
politics
60% 48% 12
Contact at least one political or community
leader
53% 43% 10
Join others to raise an issue 45% 35% 10
Attend campaign rallies 38% 29% 10*
Attend community meetings 51% 43% 8
Attend demonstrations or protest marches 13% 8% 5
Vote in national elections 66% 64% 2

Gender gap in
contact with leaders
| 18- to 35-year-olds
| 36 countries
| 2014/2015
(Figure shows percentage-
point difference between
male and female
respondents who had
contact with at least one of
the six types of leaders
during the previous year)
6
7
10
12
16
-2
0
0
1
1
2
3
3
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
9
9
9
10
10
12
12
13
14
14
14
14
14
16
17
19
19
21
21
21
24
33
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Southern Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Mozambique
Madagascar
Botswana
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Cape Verde
Liberia
Namibia
Tanzania
Swaziland
Uganda
Egypt
Zambia
Tunisia
Gabon
Côte d'Ivoire
Kenya
Lesotho
Average
Malawi
Cameroon
Sierra Leone
Ghana
Morocco
Sudan
Algeria
Nigeria
Burundi
Senegal
Benin
Mauritius
Niger
Togo
Mali
Burkina Faso
Guinea

Gender gap in
attendance at a
campaign rally |
18- to 35-year-olds
| 36 countries
| 2014/2015
male and female
respondents who attended
a campaign rally during the
previous year)
7
7
10
13
14
-3
-2
1
2
3
3
4
5
7
7
7
8
8
8
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
13
13
14
14
15
16
17
18
19
23
24
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Central Africa
Southern Africa
North Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Madagascar
Sierra Leone
Lesotho
Mozambique
Guinea
South Africa
Swaziland
Algeria
Namibia
Cape Verde
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Uganda
Average
Botswana
Cameroon
Senegal
Zambia
Burundi
Egypt
Zimbabwe
Côte d'Ivoire
Gabon
Malawi
Ghana
Liberia
Morocco
Tanzania
Togo
Nigeria
Niger
Tunisia
Benin
Mali
Kenya
Mauritius

Gender gap in civic
activism
36 countries |
2014/2015
(Figure shows average
percentage-point difference
between male and female
respondents who attended
a community meeting
and/or joined others to raise
an issue)
2
6
9
14
14
-7
0
2
2
2
2
3
5
5
7
7
7
8
9
9
10
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
13
14
16
16
16
17
17
17
17
17
18
18
18
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
Central Africa
Southern Africa
East Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Madagascar
Namibia
Botswana
Cameroon
Malawi
Mozambique
Uganda
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Liberia
Zambia
Tunisia
Average
Tanzania
Lesotho
Burundi
Niger
Mauritius
Algeria
Cote d'Ivoire
Kenya
Gabon
Ghana
Senegal
Cape Verde
Swaziland
Morocco
Sudan
Mali
Egypt
Guinea
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Togo
Burkina Faso
Benin

Gender gap in
participation in a
demonstration or
protest march
36 countries
| 2014/2015
male and female
respondents who
participated in a
demonstration or protest
march during the previous
year)
2
2
6
7
7
-3
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
13
17
21
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25
Southern Africa
East Africa
Central Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Botswana
Lesotho
Uganda
Mauritius
Zimbabwe
Madagascar
Tanzania
Morocco
Swaziland
Cape Verde
Zambia
Burundi
Sierra Leone
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Côte d'Ivoire
Malawi
Ghana
Average
Sudan
Nigeria
South Africa
Benin
Kenya
Liberia
Cameroon
Egypt
Senegal
Togo
Guinea
Algeria
Gabon
Mali
Tunisia
Burkina Faso

Conclusions

■ Engagement in the political process is an important avenue
for citizen empowerment. However, African youth are less
likely than their older peers to engage in political and civic
activism. These findings are consistent with worldwide
trends.
■ Participation appears to be declining, suggesting that
African youth are increasingly disempowered.
■ Young women are even less likely than young men to be
interested or engaged in political activism.
■ Gender differences are smallest for voting.
■ More work is required to build interest and participation in
political and civic affairs to move toward African Union goals
of youth empowerment.

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Is Africa’s youth engaged enough to be empowered?

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Is Africa’s youth engaged enough to be empowered?