Africa’s youth workforce is undergoing a transformation, with the services sector expected to overtake agriculture as the continent’s largest employer of young people by 2033, according to the Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026.
The report, produced by World Data Lab, the Mastercard Foundation and the University of Cape Town’s Development Policy Research Unit, says rapid urbanisation, rising education levels and expanding service industries are reshaping employment opportunities for millions of young Africans.
Africa is home to approximately 532-million people aged between 15 and 35, making it the youngest continent in the world. Last year, around 304-million young Africans were employed, representing 57% of the youth population. The continent’s youth population is expected to grow by a further 132-million people between 2020 and 2030.
Agriculture accounts for 47% of jobs among young people in 2025, or about 143-million
workers. However, the report projects that the services sector will surpass agriculture by 2033, employing an estimated 3.8-million more young people than farming and
related activities.
Services such as retail, transport, logistics, hospitality and trade are projected to grow nearly twice as fast as agriculture between 2015 and 2040. About 20% of jobs in services are classified as formal employment, compared with only 2% in agriculture.
Income differences are also driving the transition. Young Africans working in services earned, on average, 2.6 times more than those employed in agriculture in 2024.
Urbanisation is accelerating the trend. The number of young Africans working in urban
areas increased from 85-million in 2015 to an estimated 115-million in 2025.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) says growth in sectors such as trade, transport, accommodation and food services has been the main source of employment gains as agriculture’s share of youth employment gradually declines.
The report found that 90% of employed young Africans were working in informal jobs in 2025. More than 104-million young workers still lived in households below the international poverty line.
Every year, more than 10-million young people enter Africa’s labour market, yet economic growth patterns create only about 3-million formal jobs. The ILO estimates that
53-million young people in sub-Saharan Africa were not in employment, education or training in 2023.
The report concludes that Africa’s economic future will depend on how effectively
governments, businesses and development partners harness the continent’s growing youth
population.– bird story agency
- The Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026 projects the services sector will overtake agriculture as the largest employer of young Africans by 2033.
- Africa’s youth population, aged 15-35, is approximately 532 million, with 57% employed in 2024 and expected to grow by 132 million between 2020 and 2030.
- In 2025, agriculture accounts for 47% of youth jobs (about 143 million workers), but services jobs are growing nearly twice as fast as agriculture from 2015 to 2040.
- Only 20% of services sector jobs are formal compared to 2% in agriculture, and young workers in services earned 2.6 times more than those in agriculture in 2024.
- Despite growth, 90% of young employed Africans held informal jobs in 2025, with over 104 million living below the international poverty line and only 3 million formal jobs created annually for 10 million new labor entrants.
