New survey finds Africans positive about
themselves, their countries and their political leaders
Most Africans believe they are perceived by the rest
of the world as peaceful, polite, kind and hard working; seven out of
ten have faith in their governments to deal with HIV/Aids; and politicians
are the people Africans admire most.
These are some of the findings of Pulse of Africa, a 91热爆 World
Service commissioned survey of 7,671 Africans in ten countries: Kenya,
Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda
and Ivory Coast.
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The poll, believed to be the largest lifestyle and attitude
survey ever carried out on the continent, was conducted in April and
May of this year.
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Interviewees were from urban areas and one of the special
aspects of the research was to compare attitudes of Muslims and non-Muslims.
Muslim/non-Muslim attitudes
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Twenty one per cent of those interviewed were Muslim.
They tend to have less education (25% had no schooling compared with
10% of non-Muslims), live in larger households, an average 6.6 people
compared to 5.6 and to wish for traditional gender roles to be conserved;
86% believe men should be the head of the household (compared to 83%
of non-Muslims) and 34% think women should only be involved in family
or household matters (compared to 27% of non-Muslims).
For 45% of Muslims going on pilgrimage is the main aspiration. Only
37% said they want a well paid job, more training or more education,
which are the major ambitions of non-Muslims.
Among Muslims, time spent on religious activities comes ahead of time
spent watching television.
Forty four per cent of Muslims approve of Osama Bin Laden while only
12% of non-Muslims do.
And there is a marked dislike of George Bush with 57% of Muslims disliking
the US President compared with 36% of non-Muslims.
Sixty four per cent of Muslims believe America is a threat and 47% that
America cannot be trusted. Comparative percentages among non-Muslims
are 55% and 33%.
The UK/England is the place where Muslims would most like to live 聳
33% chose it. Twenty eight per cent opted for Saudi Arabia, the second
choice and 27% would like to live in America, the third choice.
More Muslims (64%) than non-Muslims (58%) think their country is doing
badly in tackling corruption
What worries Africans
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Poverty - nearly a quarter of Africans believe poverty
to be the continent's greatest problem; followed by HIV/Aids (14%);
unemployment (10%); illiteracy (4%); corruption and nepotism (4%).
Corruption - in seven out of the ten countries the majority of people
did not think their government was doing well in addressing corruption
and nepotism. 53% of Nigerians believe they are seen as corrupt and
dishonest as do 44% of Cameroonians.
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Unemployment - only one in five have full-time jobs.
14% of Nigerians see unemployment as a big problem but only 5% regard
HIV/AIDS as one.
Crime is not an issue. Fewer than 2% think it is among the top problems
faced by Africa.
Standard of living - 31% of women and 27% of men thought they were worse
off than they had been a year ago.
National pride
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Nearly 90% in every country are proud to be African.
Similar scores were found for loyalty to one's country. Only in Mozambique
did patriotism drop below 80%.
Confidence in their country re employment, education and attracting
investment was highest in Rwanda and Tanzania and lowest in Zambia and
Nigeria.
Eighty per cent said their country was doing well in tackling AIDS (apart
from Mozambique 49%).
16% of Mozambicans said slavery was their country's greatest contribution
to the world.
Leisure activities and clothes
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Africans spend an average six to ten hours a week on
leisure activities. Football and jogging were both popular while swimming
was mentioned by hardly any interviewees. Travel, home improvements
and car ownership were not regarded as important.
About half of Nigerians and Malawians but only 8% of Cameroonians prefer
to wear traditional clothes. About 40% of Rwandans prefer western style
clothes.
Music preferences are strongly local. Africans prefer listening to music
from their own country. Second, in nine out of the ten countries, is
music from the rest of the world. There is less interest in music from
the rest of Africa.
More than 85% listen to radio; 90% said listening to the radio was among
their major leisure activities. Television viewing ranges from 87% (Ivory
Coast) to 36% (Rwanda).
Where Africans would like to live
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Apart from Kenyans, where 50% of Kenyans want to live,
the majority of Africans would not choose their own country to live
in.
84% of those living in the Ivory Coast would opt to live outside their
country.
Who Africans do and don't like
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Nelson Mandela is the most popular figure for Africans
聳 90% like him. Kofi Annan (65%) is second most popular and Thabo
Mbeki (58%) is third.
Least popular is George Bush just ahead of Osama bin Laden.
Politicians are the people Africans most admire. Seven out of ten countries
would choose their current president or Prime Minister to represent
their country.
Sports personalities also fared well with ex-Cameroon football captain
Roger Milla second choice to represent the country behind the current
President Paul Biya.
Less than 1% chose a radio, television or film personality as their
most admired person.
Current or former presidents are the people Africans most admire; hardly
anyone mentioned military personnel.
Family and gender roles
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More than 90% of Nigerians believe the man should be
the head of the family.
About 25% of people in Malawi, Nigeria and Cameroon believed women should
only be involved in family/household matters.
Over 90% (apart from Mozambique, 76%) believe families should eat meals
together.
Over 90% (apart from Rwanda, 82%) think children should look after their
elders.
Women (31%) are more likely than men (27%) to feel they are worse off
than they were a year ago
Notes to Editors
The publication of the Pulse of Africa Survey on 18 October coincides
with World No Poverty Day and the release of A Song For Africa performed
by 18 musicians from throughout Africa, including Youssou N' Dour and
Babba Maal.
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This group of top musicians has combined forces in response
to an appeal launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
to compose and perform a song to involve everyone in Africa in the fight
against poverty and HIV/AIDS.
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