DUBAI, UAE, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two-thirds of Arab youth outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries lack confidence in their government's ability to tackle their most pressing concerns such as unemployment, corruption, and rising living costs.
More than half (54%) of the total respondents also felt their voice did not matter to their country's leadership. This is a significant drop by 19% over 2022 in the number of young Arabs who said their voice matters to their leadership. This feeling of estrangement, primarily driven by young people in North Africa and Levant, is also the most pronounced in five years.
These are some of the key findings of the 15th annual ASDA'A BCW Arab Youth Survey, the largest study of its kind of the Arab world's largest demographic, its over 200 million youth, by ASDA'A BCW, the Middle East and North Africa's leading communications consultancy.
ASDA'A BCW commissioned SixthFactor Consulting, a leading research company, to conduct face-to-face interviews with 3,600 Arab citizens aged 18 to 24 in their home nations from March 27 to April 12, 2023. The sample equally divided between men and women in 53 cities across 18 Arab states, including for the first time South Sudan.
GCC governments showing the way on policy
More than three-quarters (78%) of Arab youth in the GCC states say their voice matters to their leadership while a full 87% say their government has the right policies to address their most important concerns.
Young men and women in the GCC also expressed confidence in their government to address corruption. This was the view of 97% of youth in the UAE, 84% in Oman, 82% in Bahrain, 69% in Saudi Arabia and 56% in Kuwait.
All Emirati youth polled said they were confident their government could ensure economic stability; high levels of confidence on economic management were found in Saudi Arabia (82%), Oman and Kuwait (73% each) and Bahrain (67%).
Government in North Africa and Levant unresponsive to Arab youth
A contrasting picture emerges from North Africa and the Levant. Only a third of youth surveyed in these regions said their voice mattered to their leadership, while two-thirds said their governments did not have the right policies to address their most important concerns.
Similarly, two-thirds (61%) of youth in North Africa and about three-quarters (71%) of Levantine youth said their country was going in the wrong direction. Just four in ten (38%) in North Africa were confident that their government could address unemployment, while in Levant only a third (32%) said their government was able to address the issue. They were similarly downbeat on the ability of their government to tackle inflation, with 41% of North African youth and a third (33%) in Levant saying they didn't trust their leaders to manage rising living costs.
Sunil John, President, MENA, BCW and Founder of ASDA'A BCW, said: "Over the past 15 years, our research has been a barometer of the hopes and fears of Arab youth in countries outside the Arabian Gulf, particularly on kitchen table issues such as jobs and rising living costs. A path to a better future for these young men and women must be found if we are to ensure the Arab world's precious youth dividend is not lost.
John said that the spirit of youth optimism emerging from the GCC states showed that realising such a future was possible. "The fact that three-quarters of GCC youth believe their voice matters to their leadership, compared to barely a third in North Africa and Levant is telling. It shows that GCC governments understand the pulse of their youth."
In the coming weeks, ASDA'A BCW will publish insights under the three remaining themes covered in the study: My Identity, My Aspirations and My Lifestyle. The overall theme of the 15th edition of the ASDA'A BCW Arab Youth Survey is 'Living a New Reality'.
To know more visit arabyouthsurvey.com
For details contact:
Iman Ahmed
ASDA'A BCW
Email: Iman.Ahmed@bcw-global.com
+9714 – 4507 600
