Fulfilling Futures: Altered outlooks in sub-Saharan Africa
Reviewing life priorities amidst uncertainty
Written by Economist Impact in partnership with Prudential plc.
For a long time, the dominant narrative about Africa has been gloomy, but rapid economic and social changes are affording it a bigger role in world affairs. Despite the challenges it undoubtedly faces, the continent offers plenty of promise. It has a rapidly urbanising population and growing middle-class. Opportunities abound as a new generation of entrepreneurs attempt to chart a new course of development and inclusive growth. Four of the region’s countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria—showcase the continent’s ability to leapfrog with technologies, bypassing bricks and mortar to adopt cashless e-payment policies and digital tools in education, health and agriculture.
It is also the most youthful continent. The average age is 19.7 years; in Asia, for example, it is closer to 32. People can expect to live longer too. Life-expectancy on the continent has increased to 56 years, compared to 46 at the turn of the century.
But, like most of the world, sub-Saharan Africa is navigating a difficult path out of the global pandemic. In much of the region, the initial effects of the 2022 commodity price boom have faded, and most economies are poised for a pronounced slowdown, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Amid a global slowdown, growth is expected to decelerate to 3.6% in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF expects growth on the continent to rebound to 4.2% in 2024 in line with a global recovery, but this is by no means uniform across the continent.
No African economy will grow at a pace that will meaningfully lower poverty levels in 2023. This fuels the risk of political instability, notably in West Africa, where terrorism and banditry are undermining governability and encouraging migration, surmises the EIU forecast. Conflict in Sudan is steadily evolving into a nationwide civil war. Prolonged conflict increases the risk of regional conflagration in one of the most volatile areas in the world, as neighbouring states could become embroiled in order to preserve their own security and national interests.
Despite these challenges, many respondents we surveyed in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria profess broad satisfaction with their lives today. But many others do not—a reflection of the reality that there are different Africas, the divergences often being dictated by age and income level. Generally speaking, the older and higher income the respondent, the more upbeat views they will hold about their existing well-being and prospects. This positivity contrasts with the anxieties that the youngest and less well-off harbour about their current and future well-being. For example, some of them have aspirations for career success, purchasing a home or travelling the world, but for the time being their highest priority is bolstering their personal finances. For many, this simply means making ends meet.
This report from Economist Impact explores the hopes and aspirations that, in the pandemic aftermath, people in West and East Africa hold for different aspects of their well-being, including their physical and mental health, their personal finances, their relationships with family and friends, and interaction with their communities. The report also examines how some in parts of sub-Saharan Africa are using digital technology to pursue their goals in these areas.
The study’s main findings:
• Bolstering finances is priority one.
For many of those surveyed in East and West Africa, the pandemic triggered an evaluation of what’s important in life. Most respondents in our survey (64%), for example, say how they define success has changed in the past five years. For this group—especially those with below-median-level incomes and the young—the most important today is strengthening their financial positions. That surpasses time with family, purchasing a home or achieving professional success (the latter rated most important five years ago).
• Citizens surveyed in West and East Africa are not averse to risk in trying to improve their finances.
Despite current financial worries, respondents as a whole are relatively confident about their ability to save for older age. This includes the younger and lower income cohorts. Diversity is the norm when it comes to saving methods, and some involve a considerable degree of risk. In addition to standard savings plans, 42% of respondents invest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, and one-third invest in equities and bonds.
• Healthier lifestyles are on people’s agenda, but time is of the essence.
Chronic non-communicable disease is on the rise, with incidence of illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension climbing quickly in most sub-Saharan countries. Nevertheless, 70% of respondents are satisfied with the state of their physical health. Most (62%) also believe it will allow them to live well past age 70. Optimism is largely driven by increases in life expectancy across most of Africa over the past few decades—a rise greater than in any other region in the world—as access to healthcare, income and education improves. One medical professional we interviewed observes a growing awareness of the need to improve fitness and maintain healthy diets. But according to our survey respondents, the ability to do this hinges on having more personal time available.
• Digital is decisive, but it can do even more to improve lives.
It is difficult to overstate the role that digital technologies, especially mobile devices and apps, have played in improving people’s lives, not least in making it easier to bank and to receive remittances from relatives overseas. Among the survey respondents, 71%—and 82% of those with below-median incomes—say digital technology is vital to helping them achieve their life goals. And it can do even more, say experts, provided greater attention is given to improving digital literacy and helping people protect themselves against fraud, misinformation and other digital harms.
This report was compiled by:
