( CNN ) -- With the passing of Nelson Mandela it might be timely to put aside out-of-date and ill-informed views of Africa , and see it the way Africans seem to : With a high level of optimism . Two-thirds of respondents to a CNN survey of more than 9,000 people across South Africa and 19 other African countries say they feel more confident about the future than when Mandela came to power . Corruption tops their list of fears -- particularly in Nigeria -- but generally they believe their leaders are `` doing their best . '' The survey , conducted on smartphones , PCs and web-enabled feature phones , was an attempt to give a sense of the mood of Africans about their future and Mandela 's legacy . It suggests a positive outlook , and perhaps surprising high levels of patience with African leaders , and immense respect for Mandela as a leader for Africa not just South Africa . The survey is weighted towards South Africa with 4,871 respondents , but gives insights to other countries across a hugely diverse continent where Mandela had a huge impact . Think you know Africa ? Think again . If you think of Africa as war-torn , corrupt , beset by crippling poverty , starvation and a raging AIDS epidemic , that 's not the reality or how Africans see themselves and their future . `` People in South Africa , including the youth , must keep on respecting , loving , and caring about other people , '' said one respondent , a 19-year-old woman from South Africa . `` The youth must also take education as a weapon , to live as Madiba said . '' `` We are one nation ' and we must live in peace , build our nation to a better place , and always remember him . '' Nigerian blogger and columnist Tolu Ogunlesi , writing for CNN , said : `` Where once the continent was defined by its AK-47s ... it is now more likely to be defined by those mobile phones that have made this survey possible . '' While corruption seems to be their greatest single concern , Africans generally give their leaders pretty good reviews , the survey suggests . Half said their leaders were `` doing their best , '' and one in four said their leaders were living up to Mandela 's vision . Only a quarter said their leaders were doing badly . While a clear majority of respondents voiced optimism their own future and those of their family , there was a split down the middle from people across the continent about how South Africa would do after Mandela . Just under half said the country would succeed without him , while an equal number said it would `` struggle . '' Only 3 % predicted it would fail . The numbers in South Africa were very similar . Given a choice of five options , respondents listed corruption as the greatest challenge facing their country , followed by the gap between rich and poor , poverty , and HIV/AIDS , with war coming last . Questions and thousands of answers . CNN International asked : . 1 . Are you more or less optimistic about your own and your family 's future now than ... when Mandela came to power in South Africa ? Across Africa , 64 % said they were more optimistic , 12 % less optimistic . South Africa , the greatest proportion of the entire survey , was almost identical with 65 % more optimistic . In Nigeria , the most populous country in Africa with the second-highest number of respondents , 64 % expressed greater optimism . Ivory Coast respondents were the most optimistic with 91 % but the sample was insignificant . Rwanda had the highest percentage of `` less optimistic '' at just under 28 % but a majority were still optimistic . 2 . How well have your country 's current generation of African leaders lived up to Mandela 's vision ? Across Africa , less than a quarter felt their leaders had performed `` well '' but 52 % said their leaders were doing their best . The remainder ticked the `` badly '' box . In South Africa , where President Jacob Zuma was booed at Mandela 's memorial service this week , 55 % said the leaders were `` doing their best '' , with 20 % saying their leaders had done badly and 24 % saying they 'd done well . 3 . How do you think South Africa will progress without him ? In South Africa , accounting for half the total sample , half the respondents said the country faced a `` struggle '' without him while almost the same proportion said it would `` succeed '' . Across Africa the proportions were almost identical given the weight of South Africa in the survey overall . 4 . Which group in South Africa has most embraced Mandela 's message of reconciliation ? In answer to a question most relevant to South Africa itself , nearly 60 % of respondents said all races had equally embraced the aim of reconciliation . 5 . What is the greatest challenge in your country in the post-Mandela era ? Of the total Africa sample , 37 % , identified `` corruption '' as the biggest challenge , with 23 % identifying the gap between rich and poor . Sixteen percent put HIV/AIDS as the greatest fear . Of South African respondents 27 % rated corruption as the biggest concern and 23 % the wealth gap . In Nigeria by contrast , 57 % rated corruption their greatest conern . Mobile gives mass coverage . The Africa After Mandela survey for CNN International surveyed 10,000 people in 20 countries from the Ivory Coast to Mozambique using mobile market research methods developed by Jana Mobile , Inc. People who took the survey received a small payment of mobile airtime in return for answering five multiple-choice questions and two open-ended ones . The survey findings were not statistically weighted as they are in public opinion polling , and may not be representative of the overall population of the continent . Mobile phone use has skyrocketed in Africa , climbing from 9.2 million subscribers in 2000 to more than 648 million subscribers in 2011 -- more users than the U.S. or the European Union , according to the World Bank . Cheap handsets and low-cost connections mean they have spread to even the poorest areas and mobile is by far the fastest-growing way of connecting to the Internet in Africa . More than three-quarters of respondents were between the ages of 15 and 25 . Thirteen percent were aged 26 to 30 , and 10 % were older than 30 . Across Africa as a whole 40 % of the population is under 14 and 56 % are between 15 and 64 , according to data from the African Economic Outlook . In South Africa , 30 per cent are under 14 . The survey did not reach some of the most war-ravaged places in Africa , such as the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . CNN International conducted a similar project with Jana earlier this year to gauge the sentiment in the continent around the chances of an African winning the Papacy . Last words on Mandela . CNN 's request for answers to more open-ended questions about Mandela 's legacy and what he meant to the thousands asked for views , produced an outpouring of poignant comments . In a `` word-cloud '' which shows the phrases most-used in the thousands of replies : Hero . Great Man . Father . Freedom . Leader are most prominent . `` Africa 's booming mobile economy is a subject we report on in the context of the pace of economic and social change across the continent so it is exciting to be able to participate in the phenomenon , '' said CNN International Digital General Manager , Peter Bale , explaining the intention behind the survey . `` Mass research by mobile is an emerging method which challenges traditional polling by its sheer scale , made possible by the growth of the Internet and mass adoption of mobile phones in even the poorest communities . It gives us an opportunity to add the views of thousands of people to the reporting we do . '' `` With Nelson Mandela 's death , using a mass mobile survey allows us to collect the views of thousands , '' he said . Jana grew out of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology health project in Kenya where blood supply data around the country was delivered by mobile phones in return for small payments of airtime . It now offers market research over mobile networks around the world . The survey was conducted by mobile phone in 20 countries this week on Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday . A total of 9,286 people responded . They hailed from Benin , Burundi , Cameroon , Ghana , Guinea , Ivory Coast , Kenya , Mali , Mozambique , Niger , Nigeria , Rwanda , Senegal , South Africa , Swaziland , Tanzania , Tunisia , Uganda , Zambia and Zimbabwe . The respondents were active users of Jana 's rewards platform , mCent , and may not be representative of the overall population . Opinion : Optimism may be rife among the young , but economic freedom remains a dream . Challenge your own preconceptions : Take the 'ignorance ' test .
Two - thirds said they were more optimistic about the future than when Mandela took office . One in four countries surveyed say their leaders are living up to Mandela 's vision ` ` well '' Just under half of South African respondents said the country would collapse without him . Survey of more than 5000 people in 20 countries was undertaken by CNN in partnership with Jana .