Government responsiveness and Democracy key drivers of citizen engagement
- NOIPolls
- Jul 11
- 6 min read
News release
Government responsiveness and democratic performance, along with unmet socioeconomic needs, are important drivers of citizen engagement in Africa, a new Afrobarometer flagship report reveals.
Citizens are more likely to participate in political and civic activities if they are satisfied with the way their democracy works, believe that their elections are free and fair, and see their local elected officials as responsive to their needs. And contrary to theories and findings from the Global North, Africa’s least-wealthy citizens, and least-wealthy countries, report higher rates of engagement than their better-off counterparts.
The report, the second in an annual series on high-priority topics, draws on data spanning the past decade, including the latest round of nationally representative surveys in 39 countries, representing the views of more than three-fourths of the continent’s population. The analysis focuses on key indicators of citizen engagement: voting, political party affiliation, political discussion, attending community meetings, joining with others to raise an issue, contacting leaders, and protesting.
The findings, based on 53,444 face-to-face interviews, show that most Africans participate in multiple political and civic activities, with voting being the predominant form of engagement and protesting being the least common. But gaps exist, especially among youth and women. Poorer, less educated, and rural Africans tend to participate more in political and civic activities than their wealthier, more educated, and urban counterparts.
The report also shows that across 30 countries surveyed consistently over the past decade, participation levels are declining for attending community meetings, raising issues, and identifying with a political party, but they are increasing for contacting leaders.
The new flagship report is accompanied by country scorecards on citizen engagement that provide an at-a-glance snapshot of the key indicators of citizen participation at the national level for each of the surveyed countries.
Among the 39 countries surveyed, Nigeria is one of the few countries that stand out as having consistently high levels of participation across many, if not all, indicators.
Afrobarometer survey
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2023) cover 39 countries.
Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice. National samples of 1,200-2,400 yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Key findings
The scope of political and civic participation
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Africans voted in their country’s last national election preceding the Afrobarometer Round 9 survey (Figure 1).
o Four in 10 (41%) “feel close to” a political party.
o More than six in 10 (62%) “occasionally” or “frequently” discuss politics with family or friends.
o Almost half (47%) attended a community meeting at least once during the previous year, ranging from 11% in Tunisia to 85% in Madagascar.
o More than four in 10 (42%) joined with others to raise an issue during the previous year.
o More than one-third (37%) contacted a traditional leader, 28% a local government councillor, 15% a member of Parliament (MP), and 20% a political party official during the previous year.
o About one in 10 respondents (9%) participated in a protest or demonstration during the previous year.
Who participates?
The poorest citizens are more likely than the well-off to identify with a political party, attend a community meeting, join with others to raise an issue, and contact traditional leaders, local government councillors, and political party officials, and are about equally likely to vote, protest, discuss politics, and contact MPs (Figure 2).
Women continue to engage at substantially lower rates than men across all indicators included in the survey.
Youth (aged 18-35) are less engaged than older generations on all types of political and civic participation except protest; the disparity is largest for voting, where an 18-percentage-point gap separates youth from elders.
Compared to citizens with post-secondary education, those with no formal schooling are more likely to vote, to identify with a political party, to attend community meetings, and to contact traditional leaders, and are about equally likely to contact an MP, local government councillor, or political party official.
Drivers of democratic attitudes
Rates of participation, particularly in attending community meetings and joining with others to raise an issue, are higher in countries with lower levels of economic well-being (Figure 3).
Countries where citizens perceive local government councillors as responsive to their needs generally have higher rates of contact with these officials. However, this pattern does not hold for national legislators, who are less accessible to ordinary citizens.
Electoral participation is higher in countries where citizens are satisfied with the way democracy works; believe that elections are free, fair, and effective; and feel free to cast their ballots as they wish. In contrast, when these conditions are not present, protests are more common (Figure 4).
Charts
Figure 1: Ten ways Africans get involved | 39 countries* | 2021/2023
Respondents were asked:
People are not always able to vote in elections. … How about you? In the last national election, held in [year], did you vote, or not, or were you too young to vote? Or can’t you remember whether you voted? (% who say “I voted in the election”; respondents who were too young to vote are excluded.)
Do you feel close to any particular political party? (% who say “yes”)
When you get together with your friends or family, how often would you say you discuss political matters? (% who say “occasionally” or “frequently”)
Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each of these, please tell me whether you, personally, have done any of these things during the past year: Attended a community meeting? Got together with others to raise an issue? Participated in a demonstration or protest march? (% who say “once or twice,” “several times,” or “often”)
During the past year, how often have you contacted any of the following persons about some important problem or to give them your views: A [local government councillor]? A member of [Parliament]? A political party official? A traditional leader? (% who say “only once,” “a few times,” or “often”)
*35 countries for traditional leaders and local government councillors, 36 countries for MPs, 38 countries for party officials
Figure 2: Poverty and citizen engagement | 39 countries* | 2021/2023
Respondents were asked:
People are not always able to vote in elections. ... How about you? In the last national election, held in [year], did you vote, or not, or were you too young to vote? Or can’t you remember whether you voted? (% who say “I voted in the election”; respondents who were too young to vote are excluded.)
Do you feel close to any particular political party? (% who say “yes”)
When you get together with your friends or family, how often would you say you discuss political matters? (% who say “occasionally” or “frequently”)
Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each of these, please tell me whether you, personally, have done any of these things during the past year: Attended a community meeting? Got together with others to raise an issue? Participated in a demonstration or protest march? (% who say “once or twice,” “several times,” or “often”)
During the past year, how often have you contacted any of the following persons about some important problem or to give them your views: A [local government councillor]? A member of [Parliament]? A political party official? A traditional leader? (% who say “only once,” “a few times,” or “often”)
*35 countries for traditional leaders and local government councillors, 36 countries for MPs, 38 countries for party officials
Figure 3: Socioeconomic conditions and participation | 35-39 countries* | 2021/2023
Figure shows Pearson’s correlation coefficients. * Results do not include countries where certain questions were not asked: “Contacted local government councillor” (Angola, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles) and “Contacted MP” (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan).
Figure 4: Democratic performance and participation | 35-39 countries* | 2021/2023
Figure shows Pearson’s correlation coefficients. * Results do not include countries where question was not asked: “Contacted local government councillor” (Angola, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles), "Contacted MP" (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan), and "Trust local government" (Angola, Seychelles).
For more information, please contact:
NOIPolls
Raphael Mbaegbu
Telephone: +234 63292096
Email: rmbaegbu@noi-polls.com
Visit us online at www.afrobarometer.org.
Follow our releases on #VoicesAfrica.
This report highlights a powerful truth: when build now gg citizens feel heard and see real democratic responsiveness, they participate more actively in shaping their societies. It’s especially inspiring to see higher engagement from poorer and rural communities - challenging common assumptions and showing where real civic strength lies.