MARYLAND, US – Protests driven by Generation Z are likely to intensify across the world as young people grow increasingly frustrated with unfulfilled government promises, economic hardship and entrenched political elites, a new international study has found.
The report, Why Gen Z Is Rising, published by Johns Hopkins University scholars Erica Chenoweth and Mathew Cebul in the Journal of Democracy, links the surge in youth-led protests to deepening anger, mistrust and disappointment with political systems that many young people feel no longer represent them.
According to the study, Gen Z — defined as those aged between 13 and 28 — is increasingly disconnected from formal politics and disillusioned with democratic institutions, a sentiment that is translating into sustained street protests rather than electoral participation.
In 2025 alone, waves of Gen Z-led demonstrations have swept across countries as diverse as Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar and Peru.
While some movements have forced reforms or toppled governments, others have been met with violent crackdowns or remain unresolved, including ongoing youth-led protests in Serbia.
“Today’s Gen Z protest movements follow a longer-term trend: protest movements are often powered by young people,” the researchers note.
They cite previous studies showing that between 1990 and 2020, about 80 per cent of nonviolent campaigns to remove incumbent leaders or achieve self-determination involved significant youth participation, with under-30s making up at least a quarter of frontline protesters.
The report examines what is driving the current wave of Gen Z mobilisation and whether it could counter the global drift toward authoritarianism or instead be stifled by repression.
It also questions whether the protests are fundamentally about democracy or reflect broader grievances over governance and opportunity.
Economic pressure emerges as a central trigger. Young people are disproportionately affected by joblessness and insecure work, even as many leave universities burdened with expectations of upward mobility that stagnant economies cannot meet.
At the same time, the study points to political exclusion as a major source of resentment. In many countries, power remains concentrated among ageing political elites, leaving young citizens largely absent from decision-making spaces that shape their futures.
“The Gen Z protests exemplify these trends,” the researchers write, noting that many protest-hit countries have weak economies, high youth unemployment and rapidly growing youth populations governed by leaders far older than the average citizen.
The report highlights Nepal and Morocco as examples, where youth unemployment stands at about 20 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, with both economies still grappling with the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beyond economic hardship, corruption stands out as a unifying rallying cry.
Gen Z protesters, the study finds, are particularly incensed by political elites perceived to be enriching themselves while public services deteriorate and living standards decline.
The authors argue that governments and political parties still have an opportunity to respond constructively.
Leaders who meaningfully engage young people and address their concerns, the report concludes, could harness Gen Z’s mobilisation into a powerful force for reform rather than confrontation.
