Arab Youth Survey 2021: Young see bright days ahead despite challenges

From pandemic job losses to crippling personal debt, the region's young have much to overcome - but most are optimistic

Palestinian youths practise parkour skills on Gaza Beach during sunset, on February 12. Those aged 18 to 24 in Gaza and the West Bank were polled for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Sameh Rahmi / NurPhoto

A woman adjusts her headscarf as she sits with her dog at a cafe in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Khobar. About 82 per cent of young Saudi Arabian citizens are optimistic about their future. Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP

Emiratis gather around an open fire at the Liwa desert. The UAE was named the most desirable country to live in for the 10th consecutive year by young Arabs polled for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Karim Sahib / AFP

Palestinian protesters carry an injured youth amid clashes with Israeli security forces in the village of Beita, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on May 28. Despite this, 41 per cent of young Palestinians polled in the Arab Youth Survey were optimistic about their future. Photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP

Young Moroccans in the capital Rabat. About 70 per cent of those questioned said Covid-19 harmed their education, the survey said. Photo: Fadel Senna / AFP

Two young rappers in the Tunis metro. More than three quarters of young Tunisians surveyed said they were confident that their voice mattered to their country's leadership. The survey was conducted in July. Photo: Emeric Fohlen / NurPhoto

Young Iraqis chat as they gather to perform stunts on motorbikes and scooters in the Jadriya district of Baghdad. About 42 per cent of young Iraqis say religion is central to their identity. Photo: Ahmad Al Rubaye / AFP

Young women enjoy fresh air and sun near the Amman citadel and Roman amphitheatre In Amman, Jordan. About 71 per cent of young Jordanians said they believed their voice mattered to their country's leadership. Photo: Hristo Vladev / NurPhoto

Egyptian fans gather at a sports cafe to watch a football match. Egypt is regarded as the region's strongest ally by young Arabs. Photo: Ibrahim Ezzat / AFP

A group of young Algerians in a popular neighbourhood of the capital Algiers. The influence of the US is felt by 61 per cent of young Arabs polled in the 2021 survey. Photo: Ryad Kramdi / AFP

Young Omani women walk on a hiking trail in the village of Misfat Al Abriyeen. Only 13 per cent of young Omanis say they would consider emigrating. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub / AFP

Students line up to receive their certificates during the Visual Graduation Ceremony 2021 of Bahrain Bayan School in Sakhir. About half of young Bahrainis said they felt the pandemic affected their educational. Photo: Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters

Young Sudanese women walk in the Otash camp for internally displaced people near Nyala town, the capital of South Darfur. Two thirds of young Sudanese people said they want to live in the UAE. Photo: Ashraf Shazly / AFP

Libyan youths gather at a cliff by the Mediterranean Sea in the capital Tripoli. Young Libyans were polled in Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Mahmud Turkia / AFP

Ghenwa, 20, a trainee flight attendant, Souna, 25, a business manager, Karam, 23, a DJ, and Ali, 24, an IT student, go bowling in Damascus, Syria. More than two thirds of young Syrians believe their best days are ahead of them, up from 12 per cent in 2020. Photo: Yamam Al Shaar / Reuters

Iraqi graduates sit in a tent as they protest against a lack of jobs in Baghdad. About one third of young Iraqis say they have considered emigrating. Photo: Teba Sadiq / Reuters

Omani youths play football on the beach at sunset in the capital Muscat. More than 90 per cent of young Omanis believe their voice matters to their country's leadership. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub / AFP

A Kuwaiti rides a skateboard, on a warm day near the beachfront, in the capital Kuwait City. More than 80 per cent of young Kuwaitis believe Covid-19 has affected their education. Photo: Yasser Al Zayyat / AFP

About 97 per cent of young Syrians believe the Covid-19 pandemic affected their educational experience, according to the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Alamy

Two young men on the terrace of a kasbah in Morocco. Almost 80 per cent of young Moroccans said they believed their best days were ahead. Photo: Alamy

About 71 per cent of young Tunisians said their institutions needed reform, according to the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Alamy

Volunteers of the anti-sexual harassment organisation, Harassmap, during a street awareness campaign in Cairo. About 65 per cent of young Egyptians said they would want to live in the UAE. Photo: Alamy

Latest: Pandemic brings record job losses and setbacks for women

The majority of young Arabs believe their best days lie ahead of them, a major survey has found.

But while most of the region’s youth are optimistic about the future, they acknowledge they face many challenges in the present.

From an inability to save, struggles to cover their expenses and concerns about personal debt, most young nationals in the region have money problems, according to this year’s Arab Youth Survey - based on face-to-face interviews with 3,400 people aged 18-24.

The pandemic cost Middle East and North Africa (Mena) economies an estimated $227 billion last year.

The annual report, which has been running since 2008, found six in 10 Arab nationals between the ages of 18 and 24 are optimistic about the future.

And Emiratis are among the most hopeful, with 90 per cent agreeing with the statement, second to only those in Kuwait, 92 per cent of whom believe their best days are ahead.

Young Gulf nationals are the most optimistic, with those in the Levant the least optimistic. However, there has been a surge in positive thinking from Iraq to Yemen, Palestine, Libya, Jordan, Syria, and to a lesser extent, Lebanon, this year, with mostly double-digit increases in those agreeing their best days lie ahead.

In Syria, for example, just 12 per cent agreed with the statement last year, compared with 36 per cent in 2021.

That so many young people are hopeful at this moment is surprising, said Dr Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department.

"The good, somewhat unexpected, finding of the survey is that the pandemic has not shattered young Arabs’ confidence about a better future," he said.

"This greater optimism and positive forward-looking sentiment provide a unique window of opportunity to shape a transformational recovery by pushing ahead the long-awaited reforms needed to provide better opportunities to young people in the region."

In response, he called on policymakers to rethink the way growth should be engineered in the Arab region.

"In spite of the hardship experienced over the last year, Arab youth still believe in the prospect of an improvement of their lives: about half of respondents think they will have a better life than their parents, the highest in three years."

But not all countries share the same optimism, with the survey once again revealing disparities between respondents in the GCC, North Africa and Levant.

"Even if there is an improvement relative to last year, respondents in the Levant continue to hold relatively less-positive views about the future, reflecting the serious ongoing economic and social challenges faced by many countries in that region."

To succeed, he said, governments "should place the youth issue at the core of the structural reform agenda required to build more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive economies."

Here are some other key findings:

'Kitchen table' concerns

The overwhelming majority of young people surveyed are concerned about issues such as the rising cost of living (89 per cent), the pandemic (88 per cent), the quality of education (87 per cent) and unemployment (84 per cent).

Other concerns include the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; corruption/role of wasta; online data safety/privacy; income inequality; national economy and personal debt.

Money

A fifth, 21 per cent, are able to save money regularly, and more than a third, 37 per cent, say they usually struggle to meet their expenses each month.

The remainder, 42 per cent, say they are able to pay their expenses but usually have no money left for savings.

More than two thirds, or 71 per cent, are concerned about personal debt, with the lowest number, at 61 per cent, in the GCC. Those in the Levant were most concerned, at 77 per cent.

Jobs

Government jobs remain the biggest prize for 42 per cent across the Arab world, and for as many as 59 per cent in the Gulf.

But a small and increasing number, at 25 per cent, say they would like to work for themselves or their family, up from 16 per cent in 2019 and 23 per cent in 2020.

Fewer now say they would like to work in the private sector, at 23 per cent in 2021, compared with 28 per cent in 2019 and 24 per cent in 2020.

Gender

Significantly more young Arab women believe men have greater rights than women in 2021 compared with 2020, at 40 per cent versus 25 per cent.

Fewer women also believe men and women have the same rights at 51 per cent in 2021, down from 64 per cent in 2020. And just 9 per cent say women have more rights than men, down from 11 per cent in 2020.

Their voice

Almost three quarters, or 72 per cent, believe their voice matters to their country’s leadership, with the highest rate in the UAE, at 100 per cent.

Model nations

For the 10th year running, young Arabs said the UAE is the country they would most like to live in globally, and the Emirates is the nation they most want their own countries to emulate.

“The world needs lodestars, and the UAE has emerged as one,” said Afshin Molavi, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC.

“Every region also needs intense competition, and a leader of the pack. The UAE has clearly raised the bar across the region as it has emerged as a global economic hub for trade, transport, tourism and, increasingly, technology.”

The country’s growing economy and wide range of job opportunities are among the biggest pulls, they said.

Emigration

Fewer young Arabs are considering emigration in 2021, at 33 per cent, compared with 42 per cent in 2020. Those living in North Africa and the Levant are the most likely to want to move, with those in the Gulf, and particularly the UAE, at 3 per cent, the least.

Allies

Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are seen as their country’s strongest allies, with the biggest enemies cited as Israel and Iran.

The US is considered to have the greatest influence in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Identity

Thirty-four per cent of young Arabs consider religion the most important factor in their identity, down from 40 per cent last year, followed by their family or tribe at 21 per cent, up from 19 per cent, and then their nationality at 18 per cent, up from 17 per cent in 2020.

Religion was considered least important to Emiratis, at 16 per cent.

But more than two thirds, or 68 per cent, want their religious institutions to reform. This is particularly true of young people in Oman, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

“What shapes the identity of Arab youth? For Arab youth, what drives their identity?” said Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the UAE to the US.

“Is it religion or nationality? Family and tribe or Arabic heritage? Politics, language, or beliefs? The answer is not uniform: Diversity within the Arab world yields an assortment of responses.

“In the UAE, the answer is more straightforward — and highly illuminating. Nationality is easily the overriding force that defines identity. This is so because we have built an open and inclusive society that embraces modernity, while valuing tradition, culture, and religion."