Young citizens are more educated than their elders, but also more likely to be unemployed.
Key findings
- Water supply and unemployment are the most important problems that Mozambican youth want their government to address.
- Fewer than four in 10 young people give the government a passing grade on its efforts to provide water and sanitation services (39%) and create jobs (22%). o But six in 10 (60%) say the government is doing "fairly well" or "very well" on addressing educational needs, while half (49%) approve of its efforts to improve health care.
- Majorities of young respondents approve of the job performance of their president (60%), traditional leader (60%), member of Parliament (52%), and local government councillor (51%).
- On average, Mozambican youth have higher educational attainment than their elders. Nearly half of young Mozambicans (47%) have secondary or post-secondary schooling, twice as many as among 36- to 55-year-olds (24%).
- But youth are also more likely to be unemployed: More than half (55%) of young Mozambicans are not working and looking for a job, compared to one-third (33%) of middle-aged respondents and 43% of older citizens.
- Four in 10 Mozambican youth (40%) describe their personal living conditions as "fairly bad" or "very bad," a rate substantially lower than among older generations (48%- 54%).
- Young Mozambicans are less likely than their elders to vote, to attend community meetings, and to join others to raise an issue.
Mozambique is a youthful country. Two-thirds of its 32 million people are under the age of 25, and 18- to 35-year-olds make up 7.7 million of eligible voters (UNFPA Mozambique, 2023; Mangwiro, 2024). Does the government prioritise the needs of young people?
Challenges that Mozambican youth face include a lack of quality education, inadequate job skills, and insufficient employment opportunities in a context marked by violent conflict and climate shocks (World Bank, 2024a, 2024b).
The 2023 Global Youth Development Index ranks Mozambique 177th out of 183 countries when it comes to promoting youth education, employment, health and well-being, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation, making it the worst performing country in the Southern Africa region (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2024).
Ahead of Africa Youth Day (1 November), Afrobarometer survey findings provide an on-the ground look at the situation of youth in Mozambique.
Young Mozambicans (defined here as those aged 18-35) have more education than their elders but are also more likely to be unemployed. Unemployment joins water insecurity at the top of the list of young people's priorities for government action. But while few youth are satisfied with their government's efforts on these priorities, majorities approve of the job performance of their local government councillor, their traditional leader, their member of Parliament, and President Filipe Nyusi.
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Survey findings show that young Mozambicans are less engaged than their elders in some political and civic activities, suggesting they are not taking full advantage of available avenues to make their voices and priorities heard.
Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa
Dominique Dryding Dominique is the capacity building manager (basic track)
