Where young women and men are outside work and education in West Africa

Senegal and Ghana had the two highest overall rates here

The modelled 2025 all-youth rate was 35.26% in Senegal and 27.50% in Ghana. Côte d’Ivoire recorded 19.13%, Benin 14.36% and Nigeria 13.52%. The rates describe the share of each country’s youth, so a lower rate can still correspond to more people in a country with a larger youth population. Source 1

The gap was widest in Senegal and narrowest in Ghana

Senegal’s female and male estimates were 17.25 percentage points apart in 2025, followed by Côte d’Ivoire at 12.06 points. Ghana’s gap was 4.71 points, the smallest in the group, with rates of 29.87% for young women and 25.16% for young men. Female rates were higher than male rates in all five countries. Source 2 Source 3

Some gaps narrowed while male and female rates moved differently

Between 2005 and 2025, Benin’s female rate fell from 20.56% to 16.94% while its male rate rose from 8.84% to 11.87%. Senegal’s female rate remained near 44%, while its male rate climbed from 15.82% to 26.86%. In both cases the difference narrowed, but the individual paths help explain what changed. Source 2 Source 3

The indicator reaches beyond active jobseekers

The measure covers young people who are neither employed nor in education or training. This includes both unemployed young people who meet the definition and young people outside the labour force who are also outside education and training. The series consists of harmonized modelled estimates. It does not tell us why any individual is outside all three activities. Source 1 Source 4

Sources

• ILOSTAT via World Bank, modelled rate for all youth
• ILOSTAT via World Bank, modelled rate for female youth
• ILOSTAT via World Bank, modelled rate for male youth
• International Labour Organization, youth not in employment, education or training