Half of Africans surveyed have considered emigrating — primarily young, educated men — while strong majorities support international trade and view China favourably, according to the latest Afrobarometer report released on Wednesday in Accra, Ghana.
The report, titled ‘Beyond Borders: Citizen Perspectives on a Shifting Global Order’, draws on representative surveys conducted across 38 African countries, including Angola. Citizens in West Africa (34%), Central Africa (24%) and Southern Africa (23%) are most likely to say they have contemplated leaving their home country. Angola leads the country rankings at 57%, followed by Gambia (53%) and Liberia (51%).
Migration across the continent is being driven primarily by economic pressures, conflict and climate change. Only three countries recorded a meaningful decline in the share of citizens who said they had considered emigrating: Togo (down from 30% to 23%), São Tomé and Príncipe (from 35% to 31%) and Malawi (from 28% to 25%).
The study finds that would-be emigrants are predominantly male, aged between 18 and 35, better educated than average, and resident in urban areas.
The data also point to a shift in preferred destinations. The proportion of prospective emigrants who would remain on the continent has fallen by roughly nine percentage points, while those eyeing destinations beyond Africa has risen. Europe is the most popular external destination (29%), followed closely by North America (28%).
Nearly half of all respondents believe immigration delivers economic benefits to host countries. However, negative views of foreign workers predominate in Gabon (74%), South Africa (69%) and the Republic of Congo (63%).
“In Africa, unlike the rest of the world, it is actually the more educated, more skilled and wealthier who express the strongest resistance to immigrants,” said Josephine Sanny, Afrobarometer’s Director of Communications, speaking at the report’s launch and quoted by the Lusa news agency.
The survey also reveals broad backing for economic integration. About 62% of respondents believe governments should facilitate international trade, a majority position in 32 of the 38 countries covered. Angola, Gambia, Madagascar and Mauritania are the principal exceptions, with citizens in those countries leaning towards more restrictive trade policies.
Separately, 66% of respondents favour strengthening global trade relationships, with Malawi and Mali the only countries where that view falls short of a majority. Despite this widespread support for trade, awareness of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) remains limited across the continent.
China remains the most favourably viewed external power in Africa, with more than 60% of respondents rating its influence on the continent as positive. The United States also receives broadly favourable marks, though positive sentiment has slipped by six percentage points while negative assessments have risen by seven points.
The European Union ranks third among external powers in terms of positive influence, followed by former colonial powers, India and Russia. The African Union and regional economic communities also receive generally favourable ratings from respondents.
On the question of global governance, 71% of respondents said their country should have greater influence in international decision-making bodies, including the United Nations and the Security Council. Angola is among the exceptions to that majority position, according to Sanny.
“Increasingly, Africans say that wealthy, developed countries bear the primary responsibility for taking action on climate change,” Sanny concluded during the presentation.
The Afrobarometer report examines African citizens’ perceptions across a broad range of issues, including migration, cross-border trade, economic integration, global governance and the influence of major world powers on the continent.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions and related issues across Africa.
Source: Mercado / Original article: https://mercado.co.ao/metade-dos-africanos-ja-ponderou-emigrar-revela-ultima-pesquisa-afrobarometer/
