Optimism is rising in Africa, here's why Key areas of optimism include the economy, education and health care, according to a recent Global Attitudes survey measuring public opinion in these three African nations. The survey, conducted by Pew Research Center, asked respondents all over the world whether today's children will grow up to be better or worse off than their parents. "It's an interesting pattern globally," said Richard Wike, the Director of Global Attitudes Research at Pew Research Center, "It's more the developing and emerging nations where you see more optimism, and that's true of what we see in Africa too." Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa were the only African countries surveyed as they are, according to Wike, the most "politically and economically signification nations in the region". In the three countries large majorities believe the economic future will improve in the near future. The survey revealed Nigerians as the most optimistic, with 86% expecting their economic Loans in Cape Town situation to improve in the next year, compared to approximately 60% of South Africans and Kenyans. However this optimism is not blind, instead it correlates with each country's recent development. "If people have seen some improvement economically in the past decade, that makes them more optimistic about the long-term future,"Wike told CNN. In Nigeria, for example, there is a great deal of optimism about the long-term economic future as there has been significant economic growth in recent years. "Our data would suggest that optimism is based on what's happened recently in terms of a country's economic trajectory," he continued. Current pessimism and future optimism That's not to say that Kenyans, Nigerians and South Africans are optimistic about the current economic situation in their respective nations. Ratings of the current economy are significantly more negative in Nigeria and South Africa in 2016. Seven-in-ten respondents from both countries consider their economies to be in bad shape. In Kenya, just over half of respondents felt the same way. The vast majority of respondents across countries cite government corruption as a stumbling block to development, as well as lack of employment opportunities. "It's important to remember that this long term optimism coexists with a lot of concerns about the current situation in these countries," said Wike. When asked about the next generation, respondents were especially confident about the development of education and health care in their countries.
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