Afrobarometer (AB) is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. AB’s goals include collecting high quality public opinion data and using it to give voice to ordinary Africans in politics and policy-making processes, and to build capacity on the continent for survey research, analysis and communications. Launched in 1999 in 12 countries, the network is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, and now works in more than 40 countries. Registered and headquartered in Ghana since 2019, AB works with partners across the continent, and has completed more than 270 surveys with more than 400,000 respondents across 42 countries. AB findings have been reported in several books, many book chapters, and hundreds of journal articles and Afrobarometer publications, and are frequently reported in media across Africa and globally, including The Continent, The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and many others. The findings are also widely used by governments both within and outside of Africa. AB won the award for best data set in comparative politics from the American Political Science Association in 2004.
MSU Distinguished Professor Emeritus Michael Bratton was a co-founder of Afrobarometer, and the MSU Political Science Department was a founding partner institutions. MSU now serves as a Support Unit for AB with a special focus on analysis and capacity building. AB has worked with Graduate Research Assistants in the department throughout its tenure, and several still work with AB, most notably, Dr. Boniface Dulani, AB Director of Surveys (PhD in Political Science, MSU, 2011, and others continue to actively collaborate with the network. Dr. Carolyn Logan currently serves as Afrobarometer Director of Analysis and Capacity Building, and Dr. Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz edits the Afrobarometer Working Paper series.
For more information, see www.afrobarometer.org.