Growing numbers of young Africans want to move abroad, survey suggests | Africa | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/13/young-africans-want-to-move-abroad-survey-suggests
▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/feb0ab5767dd60d89a0216a08817b74e2f802853/0_25_4000_2400/master/4000.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali
Growing numbers of young Africans want to move abroad, survey suggests
Covid, climate, stability and violence contributing to young people feeling pessimistic about future, survey of 15 countries suggests
Kaamil Ahmed
Mon 13 Jun 2022 07.00 BST
African youth have lost confidence in their own countries and the continent as a whole to meet their aspirations and a rising number are considering moving abroad, according to a survey of young people from 15 countries.
The pandemic, climate crisis, political instability and violence have all contributed to making young people “jittery” about their futures since the Covid pandemic began, according to the African Youth Survey published on Monday.Only 32% of the 4,500 young people interviewed, aged 18-24, were optimistic about Africa’s prospects, according to the survey – a drop of 11% since the last survey of its kind published in early 2020.Many of them had their schooling suspended and they or their families had lost incomes because of the pandemic, said Ivor Ichikowitz, whose South African family foundation commissioned the report.“In many countries in Africa, it’s an election year or a year just before elections, and it’s kind of logical that people will see instability as a concern,” said Ichikowitz.“But marry that with lack of access to water, marry that with a major concern around terrorism, and you’ve now got a demographic a group of people that are very jittery about the future of the continent,” he said.“And the real bombshell out of the survey is that a very high percentage of the people in the response group are thinking about migration.”About 60% of Africa’s population is younger than 25, and more than a third is aged between 15–34 years old. By 2100, Africa will have the world’s youngest population with a median age of 35.
#Covid-19#migrant#migration#afrique#sante#pandemie#jeunesse#emigration#education