Africa: young people between insecurity and the aspiration for decent jobs

Babacar Fall

Chapter 18 in The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals, 2025, pp 225-235 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This contribution is focused on the situation of the young people in Africa. However, it takes into account the global context of the World population growth and the critical issue of employment. The theorical framework adopted is the concept of the “waithood” model which describe the youth situation as a very slow transition between childhood and adulthood. Africa has the youngest population in the world with a median age of 19 compared to 40 in Europe. The age groups 15 and 24 are generally considered as the youth. The age of 24 largely symbolises the time to enter the labour market. But, this line is like an illusion for the majority of the young people facing unemployment, working poor and/or insecure jobs. Aware of their potential, many of the young people take the option to leave their country with the hope of building a better future despite the high risks.

Keywords: Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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