Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and one of the youngest countries in the world, with an estimated median age of 18.3 and roughly two-thirds of the population under age 30. Youth are thus critical to the nation’s development,1 with the potential to drive towards a demographic dividend. In fact, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)2 found that over the next generation, Nigeria’s demographic wave, if accompanied by the right policies and investments, could triple per capita incomes in a generation. To ignore this dynamic could result in economic and social peril, given that youth unemployment and underemployment is at an alarming 55 percent. A crosssectoral approach to tackling the challenges youth face will be critical: many of the issues noted in the current Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)—a high population growth rate, poor governance and social services provision, and a poor economic growth environment—are intertwined and contribute to the staggeringly high youth unemployment rate.

Recognizing this, USAID Nigeria commissioned this cross-sectoral youth assessment under the YouthPower Action mechanism, principally to inform its 2020–2025 CDCS and identify investment opportunities. Per USAID’s Youth in Development policy, the assessment considers youth ages 10–29 and seeks to highlight youth needs and priorities across sectors, with attention to the most marginalized youth and differences by gender.