Priorities are education and sport

Teenagers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have much in common with their counterparts around the world, says study.

Teenagers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have much in common with their counterparts around the world - in particular the aspiration for a "better education and a better life", according to the study by AMRB and TRU. However, the study found that less time was spent on academic pursuits in the three Mena countries than in developing markets such as India and China. Parents, especially mothers, were the most influential people for 93 per cent of Emirati teenagers. Globally, this figure was 88 per cent.

Spectator sports were more important to teenagers in the Mena region than those elsewhere. Football was the most important sport for boys, swimming was the most important for girls. The study found that Mena teenagers, like their western counterparts, followed celebrities. The Egyptian personalities Adel Imam, Ahmed el Sakka and Ahmed Helmy were among the most popular, but westerners such as Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis were also well known.

Mena teenagers, like others around the world, listed Google, Yahoo and Facebook as their favourite websites. However, they admitted to being more religious than teenagers elsewhere and professed "to being more patriotic than their global counterparts". @Email:[e-mail]