Nearly half of Africans want to emigrate as jobs crisis deepens, survey finds
President and policy makers across Africa face mounting pressure to tackle unemployment after a new continent-wide survey found that nearly half of Africans have considered leaving their country in search of better opportunities.
Nearly one in two Africans has considered leaving their country in search of better opportunities, with unemployment and poverty emerging as the main drivers of migration, according to a major new continent-wide survey.
The latest Afrobarometer African Insights 2026 report found that 45% of Africans have at some point thought about emigrating, while one in four said they had considered moving abroad "a lot".
The findings, based on interviews conducted across 38 African countries between 2024 and 2025, mark a sharp rise in migration aspirations compared with surveys carried out between 2016 and 2018, underscoring growing economic pressures across the continent.
Employment was by far the biggest reason people wanted to leave. Half of those considering migration cited the search for work, while 29% said they hoped to escape poverty and improve their standard of living.
The report found that migration ambitions were highest among young people and the better educated, suggesting that even graduates increasingly struggle to find opportunities at home.
It also points to a shift in preferred destinations.
While earlier Afrobarometer surveys showed many Africans favoured moving elsewhere on the continent, that preference has weakened. Only 26% of prospective migrants now say they would choose another African country, down from 36% in the 2016-18 survey period, with increasing numbers looking beyond Africa for better prospects.
Despite this, support for regional integration remains strong.
A majority of respondents (56%) backed freer movement across African borders, although almost two-thirds (63%) said travelling between African countries remains difficult because of visa requirements, border controls and other administrative barriers.
The survey also found generally welcoming attitudes towards immigrants at a personal level. More than three-quarters (77%) said they would be comfortable having immigrants as neighbours.
However, opinions became more cautious when immigration was linked to jobs and public resources. Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they wanted fewer foreign job seekers admitted to their countries, while 70% expressed similar views on accepting refugees.
The report, Beyond Borders: Citizen Perspectives on a Shifting Global Order, says the findings highlight the challenge facing African governments as they seek to deepen regional integration while tackling the economic conditions driving people to leave.
It argues that creating jobs, reducing poverty and expanding economic opportunities will be critical if countries are to retain skilled young people and curb rising migration pressures.
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