Anxiety is growing as the Russia-Ukraine war impacts African nations

Anxiety is growing as the Russia-Ukraine war impacts African nations

In this article, we take a look at how the Russia-Ukraine war impacts African nations. As tensions grew between Russia and Ukraine, a survey of over 10,000 people last week revealed that 34% of people across Africa were very worried about the conflict. A further 25% said they were fairly worried. 

Jump forward only a week, now that Russia has declared war on its neighbor, the results show that these figures have risen sharply, almost doubling with 64% very worried about the conflict. Most countries share the same level of concern except Arabic countries such as Morocco and Egypt being noticeably less worried. Only 42% of Egyptians declare being very worried. 

How will Russian brands be affected by the conflict?

Across the globe, many businesses have already begun to stand in support of Ukraine by withdrawing Russian brands from their shelves.

We track the impact on brands within 21 African markets using our syndicated brand health tracker – Read more.

SagaPoll Survey Results: Which nations are most worried?

Concern has clearly increased across all countries since the conflict openly erupted. However, the perception of the potential impact it would have on their daily lives has remained relatively stable. From 21% pre-war to 25% of respondents across markets post-war think the conflict will definitely have an impact on their lives. However interesting to note that the younger the respondent the least impact they believe it will have on them.

In both periods, the highest levels of both worry and expected impact on life due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict came from Kenya. In contrast, less than half of respondents in Egypt were very worried. Although, more Egyptians did foresee a definite impact on their life once the war had broken out.

Increased perceived impact was also noticeable in Morocco and South Africa, despite less worry than in nations such as Uganda.

Ukraine war impacts African nations’ daily lives and stress levels

Local current events shaping perception

Possibly because of the recent immigration tensions experienced in South Africa, South Africans seem to be the least open of all countries to the idea of welcoming and supporting asylum seekers from Ukraine (only 14% strongly agree vs. 21% across the continent). 

When it comes to evaluating their own country’s readiness to face a war, pretty much all countries do not consider their countries well prepared. One exception with Malians, currently facing heightened security tensions at home. 

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Methodology

SagaPoll Daily Surveys conducted in two waves: 

23 February 2022 (pre-war launch) to a panel of 10,120 people across 41 countries in Africa.

01 March 2022 (post-war launch) to a panel of 11,278 people across 49 countries in Africa.

Questions: 

Are you worried about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?

Do you think there would be a noticeable impact on your life if a war breaks out between Russia and Ukraine? / Do you think there will be a noticeable impact on your life due to the war between Russia and Ukraine?

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “My country is prepared to face a war”?

To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “I would be happy for my country to welcome and support asylum seekers into my country from Ukraine”?

Base: All respondents