Youth Labour Market Participation in Africa: A Cross-National Analysis of Employment, Unemployment, Sectoral Distribution, and Educational Attainment Among the 15–35 Age Cohort, 2026

<ns7:p> Background Africa hosts the world’s largest youth cohort, yet its labour markets remain characterised by structural imbalances, agricultural dependence, gender inequalities, and educational credential mismatches. This study provides a comprehensive, cross-national analysis of youth labour market participation across all 53 African Union member states in 2026, disaggregated by sex, age group, economic sector, and educational attainment. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive-correlational analysis was conducted using International Labour Organisation ( <ns7:italic>ILO</ns7:italic> ) harmonised modelled estimates for the 15–35 age cohort. Youth unemployment rates ( <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> ), labour force participation rates ( <ns7:italic>LFPR</ns7:italic> ), and notinemployment,educationortraining ( <ns7:italic>NEET</ns7:italic> ) rates were computed by country, sub-region, sex, age group, and education level. Pearson’s correlation coefficient tested the association between <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> and <ns7:italic>NEET</ns7:italic> rate at country level. Results Of 545.1 million African youth aged 15–35, 311.5 million (57.1%) were employed, 23.1 million (4.2%) unemployed, 81.7 million (15.0%) inactive, and 128.8 million (23.6%) in education. The continental <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> was 6.91%; North Africa recorded 11.09% versus 6.40% in sub-Saharan Africa. Country-level <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> ranged from 0.4% (Niger) to 37.4% (Eswatini). The <ns7:italic>NEET</ns7:italic> rate reached 19.23% (104.8 million youth). Agriculture dominated employment (45.9%). Female <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> (7.56%) exceeded male <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> (6.40%). Upper secondary and tertiary graduates accounted for 52.7% of unemployment. A strong positive correlation existed between <ns7:italic>YUR</ns7:italic> and <ns7:italic>NEET</ns7:italic> rate ( <ns7:italic>r</ns7:italic> = 0.720, <ns7:italic>p</ns7:italic> = <ns7:italic>&lt;</ns7:italic> 0.001). Conclusions African youth labour markets exhibit pronounced heterogeneity, structural informality, and credential–employment mismatches. Targeted policies addressing structural transformation, skills alignment, gender equity, and social protection are urgently required. </ns7:p>