Source source: https://arabyouthsurvey.com/

Photo Credit: News.myseldon.com

The 15th Arab Youth Survey, 2023, traditionally examines the views, expectations, goals and current status of Arab youth in six thematic clusters:

1) Place in the modern world (My Global Citizenship);

(2) Political views (My Politics);

(3) Availability (My Livelihood);

(4) Identity (My Identity);

(5) Purposes and desires (My Aspirations);

(6) Lifestyle (My Lifestyle).

The Arab Youth Survey 2023 draws on data from 3,600 face-to-face interviews conducted between March 27 and April 12, 2023 in 53 cities from 18 Arab countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan.

Key observations

From the perspective of Arab youth (target audience) the countries with the greatest influence in the Arab world are the United States (33% of respondents); UAE (11% of respondents); Saudi Arabia (10% of respondents); Israel (10% of respondents) and Russia (8% of respondents). At the same time, 61% of young Arabs support a scenario involving a gradual reduction in the US presence in the Middle East.

Representatives of the younger generation in Arab countries continue to perceive the United States as a more reliable ally than Russia (66% vs. 31%) and China (62% vs. 35%). However, unlike the Gulf states and North Africa, in the Levant, this ratio is no longer in favor of the United States: residents of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen consider Moscow and Beijing to be more reliable allies than Washington (50% vs. 48% and 49% vs. 48%, respectively).

It is important to note that among Arab youth there is no unity regarding the need to normalize relations with Israel: in the UAE (75%), Egypt (73%) and Morocco (50%), young people support such a policy, while in Palestine (100%), Iraq (100%), Libya (99%), Lebanon (98%), Saudi Arabia (98%), Sudan (97%) and Jordan (94%) are strongly opposed.

Finally, given the opportunity to name the ideal country for life, young Arabs allocate the UAE (24%), the US (19%), Canada (19%), Qatar (14%) and the UK (13%).

In general, among Arab youth there is a sense of self-involvement in the governance process: only 46% believe that their opinion is significant for the leadership of the country, which is 21% less compared to 2022. While 78% of young people believe in the desire of rulers to listen to their needs and interests, in the Levant and North Africa. «The Optimists» It is only 32% and 35%, respectively.

An alarming symptom should be recognized by the assessment by Arab youth of the ability of national governments to overcome such problems as unemployment (55% believe), terrorism (38% believe) «The washing out.» Arabic (29% believe)

As a result, 52% of respondents believe that their country is not developing in the right direction. It is noteworthy that if negative estimates prevail in the Levant and North Africa – 28% and 35%, respectively – the younger generation in the Gulf countries expresses strong support for the chosen course (83%).

The majority (44%) of young people in Arab countries expect significant difficulties in finding work. As in many cases, the situation in the Gulf countries, where only 20% of young people fear such problems, is very different from the survey picture in the Levant and North Africa: here more than half of respondents experience fears associated with unemployment.

Similar regional imbalances among Arab youth are also characteristic of the assessment of ease of doing business, as well as the cost-earning ratio. Only 15% of respondents from Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait reported a lack of funds to pay for basic needs, while in North Africa and the Levant this value was already 44% and 48%, respectively.

In many ways, following the current transformations in the world of economics and science, Arab youth declare their interest in developing business in innovative and high-tech areas. Among those who would like to start their own business, 15% of respondents plan to develop enterprises in the field of technology, and another 13% – in the field of e-commerce.

More than 76 percent of young Arabs are concerned about the loss of traditional values and culture. At the same time, the most «progressive» In the Gulf, only 63 percent of young people are concerned about the loss of tradition, compared to 84 percent in North Africa and 79 percent in the Levant.

Arab youth (over 73%) are inclined to reject claims that religion has a deterrent effect on development in the Arab world. The majority (58%) of respondents support the idea of reforming religious institutions, although this figure is significantly lower than the 77% recorded in 2022.

The study shows that a significant proportion of young people (44%) in the Arab world are actively considering moving abroad. Such sentiments are particularly acute in the Levant (over 53%). Citing Canada (34%), the US (30%), Germany (20%), the UK (20%) and France (17%) as the most attractive destinations for relocation, young Arabs explain the need for the latter in terms of lack of jobs (49%), obtaining a certain citizenship (24%), obtaining refugee status (14%) and finally obtaining higher education (12%).

Although 51% of respondents have a negative view of the economic development of their countries (only 12% in the Gulf States and 72% in the Levant), 69% believe in the vector of economic development of their countries. «future»showing a steady positive trend compared to 2020-2022.

6) Lifestyle (My Lifestyle)

Like the younger generation in other regions of the world, respondents (over 74%) admit their dependence on social networks and media, believing that the latter negatively affect their psychological health (61% of respondents).

Social media is the source of news for the vast majority of Arab youth (61% of respondents). At the same time, as the role of television and print – news sources for 45% and 9%, respectively – has declined, the popularity of online news platforms has increased (42%).

The full study – its methodology, infographics and conclusions – is available at https://arabyouthsurvey.com/