National NewsWorld News

Africans struggle with interethnic trust but embrace coexistence, Afrobarometer survey shows

Nearly six in 10 Africans (58%) say they would welcome having individuals from other ethnic groups as neighbours, and another 32% say they would not care

On average across 33 countries, 41% of Africans feel more connected to their national than their ethnic identity, compared to just 14% who prioritise their ethnic over their national identity; 45% are equally attached to both, recent data from Afrobarometer shows.

The Afrobarometer survey shows that over the past decade, across 25 countries, attachment to national identity has decreased by 12 percentage points while preference for ethnic identity has gained 4 points.

The share of citizens who value both identities equally has increased by 8 points.  Prioritisation of national identity declined in most surveyed countries, including huge drops in South Africa (-52 percentage points), Lesotho (-27 points), Tanzania (-23 points), Ghana (-22 points), Kenya (-20 points), and Sierra Leone (-20 points).

It also reveals that four in 10 Africans (41%) report that members of their ethnic group are “sometimes,” “often,” or “always” treated unfairly by their government because of their ethnicity. Across 25 countries, perceptions of ethnic discrimination have increased by 8 percentage points since 2016/2018.

About one in five Africans (21%) say they trust people from other ethnic groups “a lot,” while 36% trust them “somewhat.”

In contrast, nine out of 10 Africans have no objection to living next door to people from different ethnic backgrounds (90%) and are open to interethnic marriages within their own families (89%).

And most (85%) indicate a sense of inclusion, saying that other citizens “think of me as a citizen just like them.”

According to the survey, interethnic trust and tolerance are weaker, and perceptions of unfair treatment more common, among people who feel more attached to their ethnic than their national identity.

After self-identifying their ethnic group, respondents were asked to compare their attachment to their national vs. their ethnic identity.

On average across 33 countries, four in 10 Africans (41%) feel more closely attached to their national identity, while a plurality (45%) say they are equally attached to both.

Just 14% report closer allegiance to their ethnic identity. An overwhelming majority (92%) of Mauritanians feel primarily connected to their national identity, followed by 79% in Guinea and 69% in Congo-Brazzaville.

According to the survey, a majority take this position in eight countries. Majorities are equally attached to both identities in 11 countries, led by Liberians (71%), Ghanaians (67%), Ugandans (67%), and Batswana (65%). Expressing primary allegiance to one’s ethnic identity is a small minority position in all countries, reaching a high of about one in four respondents in just three: Nigeria (27%), South Africa (26%), and Ethiopia (24%).

See also  Hurricane Irma: Two-thirds of Florida without power

Differences in the prioritisation of national vs. ethnic identities across demographic groups are modest.

Those with no formal education, as well as those who face the greatest economic hardship1, tend to have somewhat higher levels of attachment to national over ethnic identity than those who are more educated and wealthier. But all groups show similarly low levels of primary preference for their ethnic identity.

Across 25 countries where we have asked this question since Round 5 (2011/2013), Afrobarometer says it observed some notable shifts in attachment to national vs. ethnic identity.

In aggregate, there has been a 12-percentage-point decrease in those primarily attached to their national identity, alongside an 8-point increase in those who identify equally with both identities. There has also been a modest increase – by 4 points – in preference for ethnic identity, although it remains a small minority position.

But the patterns of change become even more distinctive when we disaggregate them by country (Table 1; detailed findings for each country can be found in Appendix 2). Just three countries – Nigeria, Senegal, and Zambia – show only minor changes, with shifts in preferences remaining under 5 percentage points. Guinea is the sole country that shows a modest gain (+5 points) in preference for national identity. In most other countries, however, we see declines in preference for national identity. South Africa leads with a remarkable 52-point drop, followed by Lesotho (-27 points), Tanzania (-23 points), Ghana (-22 points), Kenya (-20 points), and Sierra Leone (-20 points).

In nine countries with a decline of at least 5 points, the losses in national identity are offset primarily by increases in the “feel both identities equally” category. Tanzania, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, for example, show increases of 20, 16, and 15 points, respectively, in the “both equally” category, while preferences for ethnic identity remain stable.

In contrast, the last group of countries in Table 1 shows a mix of declining national identity preferences and significant increases in ethnic identity preferences. The preference for ethnic identity grew most substantially in Lesotho and Namibia (11 points each) and especially in South Africa, with a notable 19-point rise.

See also  IEBC cite staff harassment for postponement of Mombasa, Kakamega gubernatorial elections

According to Afrobarometer, however, is beyond the scope of their survey to assess the drivers of these shifts in identity preferences or their implications for national unity. While stronger ethnic identification might suggest growing societal divisions, it could also signal positive trends, such as greater tolerance for diversity or rising cultural pride.

In fact, previous Afrobarometer findings show that 68% of respondents across 34 countries see diverse communities as stronger than homogeneous ones, and 65% believe there is more that unites their country than divides it.

One key indicator of the health of relationships among ethnic groups within a country is the extent to which individuals feel that their own ethnicity may be a cause for discrimination against them. Previous Afrobarometer findings show that on average, discrimination is more frequently associated with economic status than ethnicity.

Nonetheless, across 34 countries, one in three respondents (33%) reported experiencing discrimination at the hands of their government based on ethnicity.

Across 33 countries, a majority (56%) say their group is never treated unfairly by the government, led by Madagascar (92%), Tanzania (85%), Mali (79%), Zambia (77%), Senegal (77%), and Niger (76%) (Figure 4).

These results suggest a general sense of ethnic inclusivity or satisfaction with government treatment in these contexts. However, across all countries, one in four (24%) say ethnicity-based discrimination occurs “sometimes,” and 17% say it occurs “often” or “always,” with pluralities or majorities reporting these problems in 12 countries.

More than one in four say ethnicity-based discrimination is frequent in Mozambique (26%), Cameroon (26%), Guinea (27%), Malawi (30%), and Ethiopia (31%), and in Nigeria a remarkable 44% say the same. Across demographic groups, some disparities are evident based on lived poverty and education.

Most notably, respondents with the highest levels of poverty are much more likely to report at least occasional unfair treatment than those who are well off (49% vs. 33%). Gender and age groups, on the other hand, show only modest differences.

There were initially modest declines in the proportions saying their ethnic group experienced discrimination at the hands of the government between Round 5 (2011/2013) (36%) and Round 7 (2016/2018) (32%) (Figure 6). But there has been a more substantial increase since then, with 40% reporting discrimination.

Another core indicator of ethnic salience and healthy interethnic relations is trust among ethnic groups. We begin by considering how interethnic trust compares to other aspects of inter-group trust. Afrobarometer asks respondents about how much they trust people ranging from relatives through neighbours to “other people you know.”

See also  Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water and Frances McDormand rule

The survey report shows that trust within families is high: 83% trust their relatives “somewhat” (21%) or “a lot” (62%). But trust falls off rapidly after this. Only one in three trust their neighbours “a lot” (33%), and just one in five express high levels of trust in “people from other ethnic groups” (21%), “people from other religions” (20%), and “other people you know” (19%).

Across all three of these groups, more than four in 10 say they trust these groups either “just a little” or “not at all.” Overall, this indicates that deficits in social trust, while substantial, do not adhere specifically to ethnicity, but instead reflect a more general attitude of limited trust toward people outside of an individual’s immediate family and community.

Turning specifically to interethnic trust, we observe considerable variation across countries (Figure 8). In Guinea (51%), Mali (50%), and the Gambia (48%), about half of citizens express high levels of trust in individuals from other ethnic groups, compared to a mere 4% in Mauritius and 5% in Morocco.

In all but eight countries, half or more say they trust people of other ethnicities at least “somewhat.” However, about four in 10 respondents in Lesotho (40%) and Botswana (38%) say they do not trust people from other ethnic groups at all. Respondents who are rural, less educated, facing higher levels of poverty, and older are more likely than others to report high levels of trust in people from other ethnic groups.

While the observed levels of interethnic trust might suggest that relationships across ethnic groups are often quite strained, several other indicators cast a much different light. They instead suggest that many Africans are quite open to ethnic diversity, inclusion, and engagement within their families and communities.

Nearly six in 10 Africans (58%) say they would welcome having individuals from other ethnic groups as neighbours, and another 32% say they would not care. In short, nine out of 10 (90%) are comfortable living alongside people from other ethnic groups. Just 10% reject this option.

 

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
error: Content is protected !!