Kenyans are optimistic despite the hardships.

A survey conducted by YouGov has shown that Kenyans are the most optimistic Africans with a score of 70% which is above the 64% average for Africa and slightly below South America which had the highest score at 74%. The survey was commissioned by Expo 2020 Dubai.

The study, titled the Global Outlook Survey, sampled 20,000 people aged between 18-64 in 23 countries across the 6 continents. The survey revealed that almost two-thirds are optimistic about the future and 9 in 10 people believe that it is up to them to make it better.

The survey further revealed the world’s wishlist for 2050 includes (in descending order): knowledge-gathering, learning, and access to education; plastic-free oceans, access to resources, universal clean energy transportation, carbon-free travel, and free trade for all and amongst all.

Some of the reasons Kenyans were optimistic were: new opportunities created by a thriving digital technology landscape, a decentralized system of government, and a continued uplift in socio-economic conditions across the country.

85% of the surveyed Kenyans believe that knowledge-gathering, learning, and access to education give the best chance to unlock opportunities in the year 2050. Natural resource conservation, alternative energy, and zero waste were considered as the most important in creating a better future while technological advances such as ride-sharing and electric vehicles were considered the least important.

The 2050 wishlist for the surveyed Kenyans was as follows (in descending order): free trade (82%), self-powering and energy producing transportation (72%), carbon-free travel (68%), e-commerce (66%), and cloud computing, big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) (66%).

View the survey here.

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