P20 Youth Parliament Examines Youth Development in South Africa

One item for discussion on the P20 Youth Parliament’s agenda was youth development in South Africa. Mr Risenga Maluleke, South Africa’s Statistician-General, was invited to lead the discussion on the issue.

In his presentation “Unpacking the Status of Youth Development in South Africa: providing High-Level Statistical insights on Youth Poverty, Youth Unemployment and Limited Access to Economic Participation” Mr Maluleke noted that to understand the factors contributing to youth unemployment one must understand the economy, education levels and the labour market outcomes among the youth.

He began by noted that youth unemployment has remained high over the past decade. For example, the official unemployment rate among youth aged 15-34 years stood at 36,9% in Q1:2015 and a decade later, in Q1:2025, that figure increased to 46,1%; a 9,2 percentage points increase, signalling worsening conditions for the youth.

Some of South Africa’s have lost hope of ever finding employment, he said. “Approximately 2 million out of 3,5 million discouraged work-seekers were young people aged 15-34 years in Q1: 2025, he said. The situation is so dire that some young people are even discouraged to pursue any form of education as a source of future employment. “Approximately 3,8 million out of 10,3 million (or 37,1%) young people aged 15-24 years were not in employment, education or training,” Mr Maluleke said.

He listed the occupations that are more likely to employ the youth, “More youth are employed in trade, community and social services, and finance industries. Elementary, sales and services and clerks occupations dominate the youth workforce.”

Apart from these industries, the informal economy has been a great source of livelihood for the youth, he pointed out. “The Informal economy has shown resilience, with 1,9 million South Africans running non-VAT registered businesses in 2023, up from 1,5 million a decade earlier.”

With relevant experience, youths are likely to transition to secured livelihood. “Youth with experience (12,3%) are far more likely to transition from unemployment or inactivity into employment, surpassing even their adult counterparts with experience (7,4%),” he said.

According to Stats SA’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), for those with no education or skills capital to rely on, social grants remain their only source of income, he said. “Social grants remain a vital safety net, particularly in the poorest provinces. The percentage of youth that benefited from social grants increased steadily from 2009 to 2024.” He also emphasised that the largest contributor to the youth MPI was deprivation in educational attainment.

Abel Mputing
17 June 2025