Mauritanian Youth See Govt As Failing On Their Priority Concerns, Including Education and Jobs

7 October 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Stephen Quansah

But majorities offer positive assessments of the country's economic condition and overall direction.

Key findings

  • Four in 10 Mauritanian youth (aged 18-35) report having secondary or post-secondary education (41%), outpacing older cohorts. While 30% of youth have no formal education, that reflects a sharp drop from previous generations.
  • Despite higher education levels, nearly half (47%) of young Mauritanians don't have a job but are looking for one, an unemployment rate that slightly exceeds the national average (44%).
  • According to young Mauritanians, the most critical issues that the government must address are education and health, followed by poverty and unemployment.
  • Only about one-quarter of youth say the government is performing well on education (27%), health care (25%), and poverty reduction (22%), with even lower approval on job creation (15%).
  • Even so, more than half (54%) of young citizens believe Mauritania is headed in "the right direction." o Nearly two-thirds (63%) rate the country's economic condition as "fairly good" or "very good," and (53%) offer positive assessments of their personal living conditions. o But only one-quarter (25%) of youth think Mauritania's economic condition has improved in the past year, while 41% say it has worsened. About 35% expect the country's fortunes to improve over the coming year.
  • Youth are about as likely as older adults to reach out to elected officials and collaborate with others to voice their concerns. But they are significantly less likely to vote: 59% of youth who were old enough to vote in 2020 say they did so, compared to 77%-81% of older cohorts.

More than six in 10 Mauritanians are under the age of 25 (UNFPA, 2024). This youthful demographic has the potential to bring youth issues to the forefront of national policy discussions.

The government, recognising the importance of education in national development, has integrated youth education into its broader strategic plans, focusing on the socio-economic integration of young people through curriculum improvements and targeted education and training programmes (Tammey, 2022; World Bank, 2020). Initiatives such as My Project-My Future aim to empower young entrepreneurs by providing them with necessary skills and resources. The government's review of previous youth policies ensures alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Despite government efforts, high unemployment and underemployment persist among Mauritanian youth, exacerbated by job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic (World Bank, 2022; International Labour Organization, 2023).

Youth advocates in Mauritania also stress the need for young people to be involved in governance and policy making to ensure the development of effective and responsive programmes (UNICEF, 2020). However, youth participation is often hindered by barriers such as the high costs of election campaigns, which limit opportunities for young candidates (International Foundation for Electoral Systems, 2023).

Afrobarometer survey data offer insights into the situation facing Mauritania's youth. Findings show that young adults are more likely than their elders to be educated, indicating significant gains in educational attainment over time. However, nearly half of young and early middle-aged citizens are unemployed.

Education and health top the list of young people's priorities for government action, followed by poverty and unemployment. Few youth applaud the government's performance on any of these issues.

Despite these challenges, a majority of young Mauritanians are optimistic about the country's overall direction and offer positive assessments of the country's economy and their own living conditions.

When it comes to making their voices heard, findings suggest that youth differ only modestly from older age groups in political and civic participation. One exception is voting: Among those old enough to vote in the last general election, young citizens are about 20 percentage points less likely than older respondents to say they cast a ballot.

Stephen Quansah Stephen Quansah is a PhD student in political science and a graduate research assistant at the Department of Political Science, University of Florida.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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