Young Africans are growing more optimistic about the future of their continent but are demanding a form of democracy tailored to local realities — one that delivers employment and tackles corruption — according to a study by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation (IFF) released on Tuesday.
African youth are more optimistic about the continent’s trajectory than they were two years ago, even as concerns persist over the rising cost of living and a lack of economic opportunity. The finding comes from the African Youth Survey 2026, which polled 4,901 young people aged 18 to 24 across 16 countries, including Mozambique.
According to the report, the share of young people who believe Africa is moving in the right direction rose from 37% in 2024 to 43% this year, with so-called ‘Afro-optimism’ now exceeding the levels recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kenya and South Africa bucked the trend: seven in ten young people in both countries believe the continent ‘is heading in the wrong direction.’ At the other end of the spectrum, optimism was highest in Rwanda (68%), Somalia (66%), and Burkina Faso and Ghana (both at 60%).
Despite the improved sentiment, the rising cost of living remains the primary concern for African youth, surpassing infectious disease and political instability as the factor that has most affected their lives over the past five years.
For the first time since the survey was launched in 2020, young Africans identified the creation of well-paying jobs and the fight against government corruption as their leading priorities for the years ahead.
The report also identifies a shift in how young Africans perceive the United States.
In 2024, 42% of respondents believed a Joe Biden-led administration would be more favourable to their country’s interests, compared with 23% who preferred Donald Trump. Today, however, between 58% and 60% say they are very or fairly optimistic about the impact of the current Trump administration, particularly in the areas of youth empowerment, security, and counter-terrorism.
According to the founder and commissioner of the African Youth Survey, Ivor Ichikowitz, this shift ‘reflects less a change in political ideology and more a change in how young Africans believe global politics currently works.’
In a response sent to the Lusa news agency, Ichikowitz explained that many young people recognise that Trump approaches international relations ‘through the lens of transactions, influence, and mutual interest,’ and that they are willing to accept this approach as long as Africa receives tangible benefits.
Even so, the report warns that this optimism coexists with a growing distrust of the United States.
Just over half of respondents (58%) believe the United States could disregard international law to secure access to their countries’ natural resources, with this perception strongest in South Africa and Liberia (70%).
The closure of USAID — the United States Agency for International Development — ordered by Donald Trump, also divides opinion. Nearly half of respondents (46%) believe the measure will have a negative impact on their country, a concern that is particularly pronounced in Mozambique (76%), Rwanda and Kenya (both at 63%).
The report also finds a strong appetite for reform of multilateral organisations, even as the African Union and the United Nations are seen as ‘the most influential international bodies’ with ‘a broadly positive impact on the continent.’ Some 80% of respondents say the UN ‘needs reform to include permanent African representation’ on the Security Council.
On political systems, African youth express ‘a widespread conviction that young leadership is currently insufficient’ while remaining ‘firmly committed to democracy.’ However, ‘Western-style democracy is not well received in the African context,’ the report cautions.
According to Ichikowitz, the ‘African-style democracy’ that emerges from the research places greater importance on both outcomes and process. ‘Respondents consistently associate good governance with national unity, political stability, leaders who create jobs and improve public services, alongside genuinely free and transparent elections,’ he added.
On security, seven in ten young people say they feel safe in their country, but security is described as ‘both an economic and a physical concern, with unemployment and poverty seen as the greatest threat to community safety.’
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/29/mundo/africa/africa-optimismo-dos-jovens-sobre-futuro-do-continente-sobe-para-43-revela-estudo/
