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Africa: Most Africans Continue to Experience Economic Hardship, Despite Signs of Recovery

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Africa: Most Africans Continue to Experience Economic Hardship, Despite Signs of Recovery


Government performance ratings improve slightly, but still overwhelmingly negative.

Key findings

  • Six in 10 Africans (59%) describe their country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad.”
  • A slim majority (51%) say their country’s economic situation has worsened over the past year.
  • About half (49%) of citizens are optimistic that their country’s economic situation will improve over the coming 12 months, almost twice the share (29%) who expect things to get worse.
  • But nearly six in 10 respondents (58%) view their country as heading in “the wrong direction.”
  • Pessimism about their country’s direction is more common among citizens experiencing high levels of lived poverty (67%) than their well-off counterparts (44%).
  • About half (49%) of Africans describe their personal living conditions as “fairly bad” or “very bad.” Only one-third (33%) are satisfied with their personal circumstances.
  • More than one in three working-age adults (35%) say they are unemployed and looking for jobs.
  • Material deprivation remains widespread across the continent, with majorities reporting shortages of essential goods during the previous year, including a cash income (79%), medical care (65%), food (58%), clean water (57%), and cooking fuel (52%).
  • Nearly half (47%) of all respondents turned to family members for financial assistance at least once in the past year.
  • Smaller – but still significant – minorities requested help from friends and neighbours (33%) and/or religious and community groups (12%).
  • Unemployment and the rising cost of living rank among the top three problems that citizens say their government must address.
  • Large majorities say their government is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” on keeping prices stable (82%), narrowing gaps between rich and poor (79%), creating jobs (76%), improving the living standards of the poor (73%), and managing the overall economy (64%).
  • Despite overwhelmingly negative performance ratings, the most recent findings suggest a modest turnaround on all five indicators.


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Africa has recorded notable economic progress in recent years, becoming the world’s second-fastest-growing region after Asia, with nine of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024 located on the continent (African Development Bank Group, 2024, 2025; African Export-Import Bank, 2025; United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2025a, b). The continent has also made progress in managing fiscal and monetary policies, particularly inflation, which decelerated in many African countries in 2024 and 2025, although it remained high in countries such as Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Nigeria (World Bank, 2025; African Development Bank Group, 2026). Several African currencies strengthened amid improved financial conditions, increased foreign investment and foreign-exchange inflows, stronger export revenues, and the weakening of the U.S. dollar (World Bank, 2026a).

Even so, unemployment, poverty, inequality, rising costs of living, high debt burden, and other economic pressures continued to erode many of the continent’s gains. Although Africa’s economies rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic, growth remained below pre-pandemic levels while global shocks, including wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East, drove up food, fuel, and fertiliser prices (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2025b). In 2024, Africa recorded the world’s highest unemployment rate among men and second-highest rate among women while also registering the highest level of working poverty, with more than 145 million employed people living in extreme poverty (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2025b). Income inequality remained severe as the richest 10% of Africans claimed about 56% of total income while the bottom 50% earned less than one-tenth (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2026).

Findings from Afrobarometer’s 2024/2025 surveys in 38 African countries point to widespread popular concern about economic conditions.

Majorities of Africans offer negative assessments of their country’s economic condition and its overall trajectory. Unemployment and the increasing cost of living rank high among the most important problems that citizens want their governments to address.