World Data Lab and the Mastercard Foundation announce the launch of the Africa Youth Employment Clock
World Data Lab (WDL), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, is pleased to announce the launch of the Africa Youth Employment Clock in Côte d’Ivoire on November 3, 2026.
According to the Africa Youth Employment Clock (AYEC), Africa is experiencing a historic and unprecedented growth in its youth population: around 132 million young people aged 15 to 35 are expected to be added between 2020 and 2030.
By 2026, young people are projected to account for 35% of the continent’s total population. Of the roughly 556 million young Africans on the continent in 2026, 318 million (57%) are employed, 107 million (19%) are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and 131 million (24%) are pursuing their studies.
This demographic growth represents both an immense opportunity and an urgent call to action: investing in education, skills development and pathways to dignified and fulfilling work will be decisive in enabling young Africans to participate fully in the continent’s economic transformation.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the Africa Youth Employment Clock estimates that young people aged 15 to 35 number around 11.2 million, or 37% of the country’s total population in 2026. Of these, around 6.3 million (56%) are employed, while 1.8 million (18%) are not in employment, education or training. In addition, 3.1 million (26%) are pursuing education or training.
These figures highlight a significant opportunity to harness the country’s youthful population by strengthening the bridges between education and employment, expanding access to formal employment, and ensuring that young women can participate more fully in the economy. By making youth employment trends and projections accessible, the Africa Youth Employment Clock provides an important evidence base that enables policymakers, employers and development partners to design more inclusive approaches to youth employment and economic participation.
“In Côte d’Ivoire, the youth employment situation reveals significant differences in how young women and young men access economic opportunities. While young men are more likely to be employed, young women face greater barriers to entering the labor market.
Among 15–25-year-olds, 25% of young women are not in employment, education or training (NEET), compared with 13% of young men.
Among 26–35-year-olds, the gap widens: 17% of young women are NEET, compared with just 6% of young men.
Even when they work, inequalities persist: young women earn less than men in every sector of activity, with the largest gap seen in services, where their income is 37% lower. These findings underscore the importance of looking beyond job creation alone to ask who gets access to opportunities, the quality of those opportunities, and young women’s ability to take part and progress on an equal footing. Through the Africa Youth Employment Clock, World Data Lab is making these employment trends more visible and giving policymakers and partners the evidence they need to design more inclusive pathways to dignified and fulfilling work for the young people of Côte d’Ivoire,” said Dr. Reshma Sheoraj, Senior Vice President of World Data Lab.
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