As Africa joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Youth Day 2023, attention has been drawn to the growing statistics of unemployed youths in the continent.

Development Diaries reports that the theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘Green Skills For Youth: Towards A Sustainable World’.

Africa’s youth population is rapidly growing and is expected to double to over 830 million by 2050, data from African Development Bank (AfDB) shows.

It is understood that youth unemployment in Africa is one of the numerous problems threatening the stability of several nations and preventing the continent’s economy from recovering from recent setbacks and difficulties.

The African problem is not just unemployment but underemployment, which peaks at just over half of youths in the labour force in low-income countries.

Data from AfDB also shows that only one in six of Africa’s almost 420 million adolescents, who are between the ages of 15 and 35, are employed for pay, with another third being disadvantaged employees.

Youth unemployment in the continent translates to problems like poorer living conditions, increased migration, and adds to conflict.

Looking at the theme for this year’s Youth Day, Executive Director of Green Growth Africa, a UNEP-accredited non-governmental organisation, Adedoyin Adeleke, recently said Africa has much to gain by tapping into the green transition, as the world is shifting away from fossil fuel use.  

He said Africa has abundant lithium reserves, and the emerging battery industry is critical to the expanding transport and energy industries, which are two of the highest producers of carbon emissions in the world.

Prioritising the development of green value chains for minerals, particularly lithium, which is used to make batteries that power electric vehicles can help reduce youth unemployment.

Figures from the United Nations show that Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30. 

With this number lies an opportunity for the continent’s growth, but youth unemployment has shown a failure to capitalise on this asset for growth.

Development Diaries calls on the continent’s leaders and the African Union to create policies that would foster youth employment and development in the continent. 

Photo source: AfDB