Accra – A new flagship report from Afrobarometer shows that government responsiveness and satisfaction with democracy are the most significant drivers of citizen engagement across Africa.
By Patience M. Jones
Contrary to conventional thinking, the report finds that Africa’s poorest citizens and those in lower-income countries often participate more actively in political and civic life than those in wealthier nations.
The report draws on data from over 53,000 face-to-face interviews conducted across 39 African countries between 2021 and 2023, offering one of the most comprehensive snapshots of African civic behavior to date.
It is the second installment in Afrobarometer’s annual series of thematic reports and spans more than a decade of public opinion trends.
The report reveals that Africans are far more likely to engage in civic and political activities when they believe in the strength of their democracy and trust that their leaders, particularly at the local level, are responsive to their concerns.
Confidence in electoral fairness and satisfaction with democratic processes strongly correlate with higher levels of voter turnout, participation in community meetings, and interaction with leaders.
Surprisingly, the study finds that poorer individuals and citizens in less affluent countries tend to be more civically active.
These groups reported higher rates of voting, attending community meetings, and contacting local leaders, suggesting that necessity and unmet needs often fuel community-level participation.
Among the report’s notable findings, 72 percent of respondents said they voted in their most recent national election. Forty-one percent reported feeling close to a political party, while 62 percent frequently or occasionally discuss politics.
Forty-seven percent attended a community meeting in the past year and 42 percent joined others to raise an issue. Thirty-seven percent contacted a traditional leader, 28 percent contacted a local councillor, 20 percent reached out to a political party official, 15 percent contacted a Member of Parliament, and only 9 percent said they participated in a protest or demonstration.
The report highlights persistent generational and gender disparities in civic engagement. Young people aged 18 to 35 are significantly less engaged than older adults across most indicators, except protests, where youth are slightly more active. There is an 18-point gap in voter turnout between younger and older respondents. Additionally, women participate at lower rates than men across all forms of engagement.
Interestingly, citizens with no formal education are more likely than those with post-secondary education to vote, join a political party, and attend community meetings.
While overall civic engagement remains strong, Afrobarometer notes some shifting patterns. Over the last decade, there has been a decline in community meeting participation, political party affiliation, and collective activism. However, direct contact with leaders, particularly local councillors and traditional leaders, has seen an upward trend.
The report also draws attention to Liberia, which recorded high levels of civic engagement across several indicators. However, the country saw a significant 17-point drop in political party affiliation, indicating a possible shift in how citizens choose to participate in public life.
Afrobarometer’s findings reinforce the idea that perceptions of democratic quality significantly influence behavior. Higher satisfaction with democracy, trust in electoral systems, and belief in free and fair elections correlate with greater participation in formal political processes. On the other hand, protest activity tends to rise in environments where democratic confidence is low.
The data also point to stronger engagement in lower-income countries, where citizens often rely more heavily on collective action and community organizing to address gaps in government service delivery.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that has tracked public attitudes on democracy, governance, and economic development since 1999.
To date, the network has conducted nine rounds of surveys in up to 42 countries. National partners administer the surveys in local languages using scientifically selected, nationally representative samples of between 1,200 and 2,400 respondents per country, with a margin of error ranging between plus or minus two and three percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
