ILO WAEMU youth country briefs

Across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), young people face persistent challenges in accessing productive and sustainable employment opportunities. Despite periods of relatively strong economic growth, labour markets remain characterised by high levels of informality, a strong concentration of employment in low-productivity agriculture, and significant disparities across gender, disability status and location. Rapid demographic growth further intensifies pressure on labour markets, making youth employment a central development priority for the region. Strengthening the evidence base on these dynamics is essential to better understand the constraints faced by young people and to inform effective policy responses.

To contribute to this effort, the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has undertaken a new phase of analytical work covering the eight WAEMU countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Building on a long-standing collaboration, this work includes the production of comparable country statistical briefs drawing on newly available harmonized household survey data. The resulting analyses provide updated and comparable insights into youth labour market trends and serves as a basis for dialogue on policy and programme responses.

Access the data here.