Young Arabs want jobs and a better future, so what is standing in their way?

The proliferation of successful startups in the UAE is just one example of what can be achieved when society fosters young people’s dreams. Victor Besa / The National

When the most recent Arab Youth Survey found that nearly half of its respondents wanted to start their own businesses within the next five years, it was proof of what many in the Arab world knew already – that its young, energetic population is looking for opportunities to live up to its potential.

Nonetheless, an International Labour Organisation report released this week has recorded an increase in youth unemployment in many Arab states, with eight countries posting higher rates last year than in 2019, despite the global average falling in the same period. The youth unemployment rate in Arab states last year was at 28 per cent, up from 27 per cent in 2019.

Each of these countries faces unique challenges but the persistence of youth unemployment poses an important question: what is standing in so many young Arabs’ way?

The answer is not a lack of ambition. Nor is it necessarily a lack of education or training, although both are important. In fact, education in many Arab states is more accessible than ever, according to the Arab Development Portal, a knowledge platform. Worryingly, the International Monetary Fund has found that unemployment in the Arab world actually tends to increase with schooling, exceeding 15 per cent for those with tertiary education in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. What too many young Arabs lack is opportunity.

The reality is that many young people in Arab countries who seek a good job or want to start their own businesses are too often stymied by financial bottlenecks, burdensome bureaucracy, corruption (including nepotism) or – in several countries – war. A lack of access to startup capital, with an accompanying lack of support for young entrepreneurs, condemns many to low-skilled, low-paid jobs or, as the ILO has found, no job at all. According to research from the Brookings Institution “the inability of Mena economies to create enough decent employment opportunities is arguably the most important factor behind the high rates of youth unemployment and joblessness in the region”.

Young Arabs want the chance to work and build for the future. According to World Bank data from last year, the Middle East’s population is growing rapidly and a third of its people are under 15 – this is a huge resource for that more Arab states should be investing in.

That is easier said than done, and there are no easy answers. Some Arab states are stable and resource-rich; others suffer from the effects of current or past armed conflicts, something that deters the international investment that is often critical to creating good opportunities their young people. Youth unemployment has dogged many Arab states for decades.

Nevertheless, economic freedom – that is, opportunity for those who are willing to work in a fair labour market that supports entrepreneurship – is an indispensable part of building and maintaining a modern economy that will help to deliver social cohesion and stability. The proliferation of successful, Arab-led startups in the UAE is just one example of what can be achieved when society nurtures young people’s dreams. The task is to ensure that sense of opportunity knocks across the Arab world.