Data Points

Population

• Between now and 2030 the global youth cohort (ages 15 24) will swell to around 1.3 billion (UN DESA 2024). Add the older slice of first job seekers (up to 29) and we have roughly 1.4 billion young adults pushing through the school to work bottleneck with little chance of formal employment.
  • Source: UN DESA (2024) World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• Africa alone will add more young workers each year than the rest of the world combined by 2035.
  • Source: (Africa.com 2024).

Employment (under-employment)

Numbers

• The International Labour Organization’s latest WESO 2025 report trumpets a post‑pandemic recovery, yet quietly concedes that structural youth unemployment remains persistently high.
  • Source: (ILO 2025).
• Global youth unemployment might have dipped to ~13 percent—but that recovery skipped the Arab States, East Asia and large parts of Africa
  • Source: (Reuters 2025).
• In sub Saharan Africa nine in ten young workers are in the informal sector — no contracts, no protections, no path up the ladder
  • Source: (ECA 2015).

Political Instability

• South Africa: Youth unemployment for 15‑24‑year‑olds hovers near 60 percent(Trading Economics 2024) , fuelling recurring riots and deep political cynicism.
  • Source: Trading Economics 2024
• Tunisia: An educated but jobless generation lit the match for the Arab Spring — and never did get the jobs they marched for
  • Source: (IAI 2011).