Gen Z protests show level of youth frustration

The succession of youth-led protests that erupted in several countries last year unseated governments from Bangladesh to Madagascar and rattled regimes across the world. The so-called Gen Z protesters were demanding political change. In some cases, they brandished a cartoon skull and crossbones symbol co-opted from a Japanese anime in which misfits battle a corrupt and oppressive regime.

Richer parts of the world are pondering the implications of ageing populations for the labour force, pensions and healthcare. But other regions — mainly, but far from exclusively, in Africa — face the challenge of growing numbers of young, aspirant citizens who are frustrated by lack of economic opportunity and political freedoms.

Born between 1997 and 2012, the Gen Z cohort will this year celebrate birthdays between 14 and 29, moving it decisively to the political centre stage. According to Our World in Data, a UK non-profit research organisation, some 80 countries — with a combined population of 2.5bn people — have a median age of 29 or below, making them Gen Z-dominant countries.

They include Uzbekistan (median age 29), Ecuador (28) and the Philippines (26), as well as the majority of Africa’s 54 countries, with the youngest being Uganda (16) and Niger (15). Only four African countries — Mauritius, Seychelles, Tunisia and Morocco — have a median age above 29.

[Roughly], the younger the population the greater the potential for popular backlash

Academic research suggests a link between political volatility and young populations, particularly if national institutions are weak and jobs are scarce. In a much-cited study published in 2006, Henrik Urdal, research professor and former director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, concluded that countries with “youth bulges” are more prone to political violence, including civil conflict, rioting and terrorism.

The Gen Z label for the wave of protests is a useful shorthand but the age cut-off is arbitrary. Recent anti-government protests in Iran, where the median age is 34, and Morocco, 31, show that youthful uprisings do not cease when the median age ticks over 29. In both countries, a mix of economic frustration and anger at elites has spilled over into protest. Still, a rough rule of thumb suggests that the younger the population the greater the potential for popular backlash, with unpredictable outcomes.

In Sudan in 2019, nationwide demonstrations, initially sparked by bread prices, led to a moment of optimism when the 30-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir fell. But by April 2023, the military, which had appeared to endorse democratic transition, turned instead on the civilian administration and on itself, plunging the country into a disastrous civil war.

Gen Z, the first digitally native generation, has unprecedented access to information, including on the shortcomings of their governments and the lifestyles available to people in more successful economies and among their own elites.

In Kenya in 2024, Gen Z protesters forced President William Ruto to roll back planned tax rises and to sack his cabinet. Young people were angered that their politicians had racked up what they saw as unnecessary national debt while many flaunted luxurious lifestyles on social media.

Patrick Gathara, a cartoonist and commentator, told the FT recently that Kenya’s youth had staged “a revolt against the political class”. Ruto, he says, campaigned for the presidency by claiming to represent the so-called “hustler” generation: “He has incited a change in Kenyan politics he can’t control.”

Africans say they get less democracy than they want

According to Afrobarometer, the respected polling organisation that provides a snapshot of public opinion across Africa, Africans — including, but to a slightly lesser degree, the Gen Z generation — decisively favour democracy. Some two-thirds of respondents to its 2024 poll of 39 countries said they preferred it to other forms of government, with 80 per cent rejecting one-man rule and 66 per cent against military rule. “Africans say they get less democracy than they want,” Afrobarometer observed.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, frustration with fake or woefully underperforming democracies means that members of Gen Z, in poorer and richer countries, express a willingness to tolerate strongmen or military dictatorships. In Madagascar, young people toppled the government of Andry Rajoelina — but only with the help of the armed forces, which are now in power.

In October 2025, youth took to the streets in Tanzania, to protest against sham elections, with some calling for the military to intervene. Police and security forces killed hundreds, possibly thousands, and Samia Suluhu Hassan declared herself the winner with a logic-defying 98 per cent of the vote.

Even in richer countries, where Gen Z is not in the majority and where its demands are less existential, the economic and political aspirations of the TikTok generation are an increasingly potent force.

By some measures Gen Z is perhaps the most privileged generation in history, but many young people in America and Europe are frustrated by the high cost of housing, student debt and the threat of AI eroding job prospects. Young people worry about their own retirement savings and may resent what they see as generous provisions for older generations.

Whether in the US, France or Germany — or in poorer parts of the world such as the Sahel, where many young people have embraced military governments — some in Gen Z are gravitating to what were once the political fringes.

That makes them a potentially disruptive force, not only in youthful countries, but also in ageing, wealthier ones with stronger institutions and more to lose.