Rwanda Tops Africa for Youth Confidence and Safety
First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame playing with a young boy at Imbuto Hubs
African Youth Survey 2026 finds 91% say Rwanda is moving in the right direction, 99% feel safe and 96% believe young people can influence political decisions.
- 91% say Rwanda is moving in the right direction, the highest figure across the 16 countries surveyed, while only 8% say it is moving in the wrong direction.
- 79% say the national economy is moving in the right direction and 91% are optimistic or excited about the country’s future, joint-highest with Burkina Faso.
- 99% say they feel safe and 95% say Rwanda is safer than three years ago, the highest results recorded on both measures.
- 88% say their voice matters to national leaders, while 96% are confident young people can influence political decision-making over the next five years.
29 July 2026, Johannesburg: Rwanda has emerged as the strongest story of national confidence and safety in the African Youth Survey 2026, with its young people reporting the highest belief in the country’s direction, near-universal personal safety and exceptional confidence in their ability to shape political decisions.
The latest African Youth Survey, commissioned by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and conducted by PSB Insights, interviewed 4,901 young Africans aged 18 to 24 across 16 countries in March 2026. Approximately 300 face-to-face interviews were conducted in Rwanda. The recurring survey was launched in 2020 to give governments, business, civil society and the media a rigorous understanding of the views of Africa’s rising generation.
More than nine in ten Rwandan respondents, 91%, say their country is moving in the right direction, the highest result in the survey. Only 8% say Rwanda is moving in the wrong direction. Rwandan youth also hold the survey’s most positive view of the continent’s direction, with 68% saying Africa is moving in the right direction.
Confidence also extends to security and justice institutions. Some 98% are satisfied with police and security services, the highest figure in the survey, while 93% say they are treated fairly and respectfully by those services. A further 89% believe everyone is equal before the law, also the highest result recorded.
This consistency across national direction, economic confidence, future optimism and continental outlook gives Rwanda the clearest stories of national confidence among the 16 countries surveyed.
Ivor Ichikowitz, Founder and Commissioner of the African Youth Survey, said:
“Rwanda is one of the countries the world talks about most, but rarely listens to. These results demand that people listen. Its young people feel safe, believe the country is moving forward and overwhelmingly think they can shape its future. That is not cautious approval. It is a remarkable expression of national confidence.
“The real achievement is not simply that young Rwandans believe in the state. It is that they believe they have a place within the national project. That sense of belonging is among the most powerful assets any country can possess. Rwanda’s challenge is to protect it as expectations rise. A generation this confident will expect an ever greater stake in the prosperity Rwanda is building – and in the decisions that shape what comes next.”
Almost every respondent, 99%, says they feel safe in the country today, compared with 70% across the survey. Some 95% say Rwanda is safer than it was three years ago, against a survey-wide result of 57%.
Confidence extends to security and justice institutions. Some 98% are satisfied with police and security services, the highest figure in the survey. A further 93% say they are treated fairly and respectfully, while 89% say everyone is equal before the law, also the highest result recorded.
The political voice findings are equally striking. Some 88% say their voice matters to national leaders, compared with 70% across the survey, while 96% believe young people can influence political decisions over the next five years. Just 45% say leaders are out of touch with young people, the lowest figure recorded and far below the 76% survey average.
The African Youth Survey 2026 was conducted through face-to-face interviews in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Further Key African Youth Survey 2026 data:
- Across the eight countries tracked in every wave of the African Youth Survey, 47% say their country is moving in the right direction, up from 30% in 2024, while 45% say the national economy is moving in the right direction, up from 26%.
- 70% of young Africans say they feel safe in their country today and 57% say their country is safer than it was three years ago.
- 70% say their voice matters to national leaders and 84% are confident young people can meaningfully influence political decision-making over the next five years.
- 61% say they are treated fairly and respectfully by police and security services, a three percentage point increase from 2024.
- 54% identify unemployment and poverty as one of the biggest threats to safety in their community, while 56% say job creation for young people should be the top government priority to improve security.
- 73% say democracy is always preferable to any other form of government, while 56% say Western-style democracy is not suitable for Africa and that a new African model is needed.
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