Africa has the youngest population in the world, and it’s
growing fast. By 2055, the continent’s youth population (aged 15-24), is
expected to be more than double the 2015 total of 226 million.
Yet
the continent remains stubbornly inhospitable — politically,
economically, and socially — to young people. The success of African
governments’ efforts to address this will be the single most important
factor determining whether the continent prospers or suffers in the
coming decades.
A business-as-usual approach would risk
exposing Africa not only to economic underperformance and a brain
drain, but also to criminality, political and social unrest, and even
armed conflict.
But Africa can thrive if its governments act now to tap the energy and dynamism of the burgeoning youth population.
What
is needed is a comprehensive policy agenda, comprising demographically
informed measures that address political, cultural, and economic
exclusion in a synchronised manner.
This will be no
small feat, not least because of the massive age gap between Africa’s
young majority and their leaders: the average age of an African
president is 62, while the median age of Africa’s population is 19.5.
That
is the world’s largest age gap between governors and the governed, and
it raises concerns about how well decision-makers understand the needs
and aspirations of young people.
It does not help that
a tradition of gerontocracy prevails in many countries, meaning that
young people’s political participation and influence is restricted on
cultural grounds.
Generational inequality
To
help overcome this barrier, governments should treat generational
inequality with the same sense of urgency as other forms of inequality,
accelerating efforts to introduce youth quotas for political parties,
parliaments, and other decision-making institutions.
Much
work also remains to be done on the economic front. According to the
African Development Bank, 12 million young people entered Africa’s
labour force in 2015, but only 3.1 million jobs were created.
That
means that millions of young people were left without a stake in the
economy. In the short and medium-term, it will be virtually impossible
to create enough jobs to meet the needs of the unemployed and vulnerably
employed.
Africa does not have a large
labour-intensive manufacturing sector to absorb its mushrooming young
population. But there are programmes that can help.
For
example, YouthConnekt Africa, launched by the United Nations
Development Programme and the government of Rwanda, encourages
youth-friendly policies, such as access to finance and skills
development, that match the needs of the market in particular countries.
Still, given the dearth of opportunities at home, many young Africans view migration as a chance for social mobility.
Yet,
as the CEO of a major company based in sub-Saharan Africa recently
lamented to me, acquiring work visas for Africans is extremely
difficult.
In fact, it can be easier to get a work visa
for a British citizen than for, say, a Ghanaian with the same skills.
Africa’s vision for economic integration, as set out in the African
Union’s Agenda 2063, cannot be realised without labor migration that
creates African careers paths for young people.
It is
telling that so many Africans are willing to risk drowning in the
Mediterranean Sea, living in appalling detention centres in North
Africa, or sleeping in public parks in European cities, rather than
remaining in Africa.
Promise of opportunities
Yet,
contrary to popular belief, young people are not migrating from Africa
exclusively for economic reasons. Rather, they are motivated by the
promise of opportunities for genuine self-improvement and the freedom to
decide who to be and how to live. That is certainly what led me to
leave Africa and head to Europe at a young age.
So far, Africa seems to be sleepwalking into a future of lost opportunity and, potentially, serious instability. And Africa’s international partners have remained preoccupied with containing migration from the continent, rather than addressing its underlying causes. But there may be reason for hope.
So far, Africa seems to be sleepwalking into a future of lost opportunity and, potentially, serious instability. And Africa’s international partners have remained preoccupied with containing migration from the continent, rather than addressing its underlying causes. But there may be reason for hope.
The
fifth European Union-Africa Summit, to be held later this year, will
focus squarely on the continent’s young people. Likewise, the African
Union’s theme for 2017 is Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through
Investments in Youth.
One hopes that the growing
recognition of the need to create opportunities for young people leads
to effective, solidarity-based initiatives that address the barriers to
youth empowerment on the continent, instead of erecting barriers to
prevent young people from leaving.
Mohamed Yahya is
Africa Regional Programme Co-ordinator for United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP). Copyright: Project Syndicate
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