Afrobarometer debuts Round 10 surveys, aims to increase footprint to about 42 countries by 2025

Afrobarometer, Africa’s leading survey research organisation, is launching its 10th round of national surveys with data collection in Côte d’Ivoire. Following the successful completion of Round 9 surveys in 39 African countries between late 2021 and mid-2023, the network plans to expand its coverage to about 42 African countries in 2024 and 2025.

The latest round introduces a broad scope of special focus topics, including sexual and reproductive health, cost of living, migration and cross-border trade, access to justice, gender, and youth issues, which will complement Afrobarometer’s flagship topics of democracy, governance, and economic well-being.

“The 10th round of Afrobarometer’s surveys marks yet another historic milestone in our 25-year journey of giving African citizens a voice in the policy process,” Afrobarometer Director of Surveys Boniface Dulani said. “In our 10th round of surveys, we will not only be adding new topics, but will also continue to explore the addition of new countries to the Afrobarometer network until the day when citizens from all 54 African countries can count on having their voices heard.”

Afrobarometer is widely recognised as setting the “gold standard” for survey research in Africa. Its data collection process adheres to rigorous methodological standards, including face-to-face interviews with randomly selected respondents. Sample sizes of 1,200-2,400 respondents aged 18 and above, representing each country’s demographics, meet or exceed global standards in public attitude research. Afrobarometer works closely with national statistics offices, and its survey samples are based on population projections using the most recent census data.

A core commitment is to ensure gender balance, with a 50/50 selection of female and male respondents. The findings can also be disaggregated by age, rural/urban location, education, economic status, and other demographic characteristics, providing a broad and in-depth understanding of Africans’ evaluations, experiences, and expectations.

Afrobarometer CEO Joseph Asunka reiterated the network’s commitment to amplifying the voices of African citizens and contributing valuable insights to inform policies across the continent.

“Afrobarometer remains dedicated to being the premier source of reliable and comprehensive public attitude data in Africa,” he said. “As we embark on our 10th round of surveys, we reaffirm our commitment to empowering citizens and informing policy through data-driven insights.”

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer (AB) is a trusted source of high-quality data and analysis on what Africans are thinking. With an unmatched track record of 350,000+ interviews, representing the views of 75% of the African population, AB is leading the charge to bridge the continent’s data gap. AB data inform many global indices, such as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, and the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators. The data are also used for country risk analyses and by credit rating and forecasting agencies such as the Economist Intelligence Unit. All AB data sets are publicly available on the website and may be analysed free of charge using AB’s online data analysis tool.