- Togolese youth expressed overwhelmingly positive views of major international partners, with 100% rating China's influence positively, 97% approving of U.S. influence and 87% viewing the European Union positively, according to the African Youth Survey 2026.
- The survey also found that Togolese respondents reported the lowest levels of concern over cross-border security threats among the 16 countries surveyed.
- Togo ranked second in Africa for demand to make business creation easier, with 27% of young respondents identifying entrepreneurship as the continent's top development priority.
Togo ranked first in Africa for positive perceptions of international partners and among the countries reporting the lowest levels of concern over cross-border threats, according to the African Youth Survey 2026, published on July 29.
The survey also ranked Togolese youth second in Africa for their demand to make business creation easier, highlighting entrepreneurship as a higher priority than reducing foreign influence or attracting additional external investment.
Young Togolese expressed exceptionally favorable views of the country's major international partners. Among respondents who recognized China's influence in Togo, 100% described that influence as positive, matching Mozambique for the highest score in the survey.
Respondents also rated U.S. influence positively at 97%, while 87% viewed the European Union's influence positively. No other country included in the survey recorded such broad approval of all three major international partners simultaneously.
Meanwhile, 79% of Togolese respondents said the European Union exerts significant influence in the country, placing Togo fourth in Africa behind Mozambique, the Republic of the Congo and Kenya.
Research firm PSB Insights conducted the survey on behalf of South Africa's Ichikowitz Family Foundation. The survey interviewed 4,901 people aged 18 to 24 across 16 African countries in face-to-face interviews during March 2026, including approximately 300 respondents in Togo.
Lower Perceived Cross-Border Security Threats
The survey also highlighted comparatively low levels of perceived security concerns among young Togolese. Across the four cross-border threats assessed, Togo recorded the lowest reported levels of concern in the survey. The findings measure public perception rather than actual exposure to security risks.
Only 55% of respondents expressed concern about illegal migration, compared with 91% in neighboring Ghana. Meanwhile, 58% said they worried about cross-border drug and arms trafficking, the lowest level among all participating countries.
In addition, 65% expressed concern about armed groups crossing national borders, compared with 93% in both Ghana and Mozambique. Only 15% of respondents said they or someone close to them had been the victim of a crime during the previous three years, giving Togo the fourth-best result in the survey.
Entrepreneurship Emerges as a Priority
Despite the positive security perceptions, respondents expressed more cautious views about the domestic economy. Only 29% of Togolese respondents approved of the direction of the national economy. However, that figure remained above comparable results recorded in Nigeria (22%), Kenya (19%) and Chad (15%).
The economic outlook may help explain the survey's findings on entrepreneurship. When asked what Africa needs most to accelerate its development, 27% of Togolese respondents cited making it easier to start a business, the second-highest share in Africa after the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 11 percentage points above the continental average of 16%.
By comparison, only 9% of respondents across Africa prioritized attracting more foreign investment, while 8% favored reducing the influence of foreign powers.
"What young Africans want are relationships built on mutual benefit and mutual respect," wrote Emmanuel Kwezi Tabaro, former Deputy Executive Director of the Leo Africa Institute in Kampala, in the report.
In Togo, respondents placed greater emphasis on improving the domestic business environment than on redefining the country's relationships with international partners.
This article was initially published in French by Fiacre E. Kakpo
Adapted in English by Ange J. A de Berry Quenum