Young Arabs deem unemployment, extremism biggest challenges to region — survey

AMMAN — Optimism has plunged among young Arabs across much of the region with a widening divide over hopes for the future between those living in the wealthy Gulf states and those living elsewhere, according to a survey. 

In its 9th Annual Arab Youth Survey released recently, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller has found that young Arabs view unemployment and extremism as the biggest problems holding their regions back with half of those surveyed saying their countries are headed in the right direction, a big decrease from the situation just one year ago, when 64 per cent said they thought their country was going in the right direction.

The Arab Youth Survey gathers information from youth around the region, asking them questions covering a number of intriguing topics, such as the future of their countries, key obstacles to prosperity around the Middle East, world allies, communication methods, and Arabic language use compared to English.

In the GCC member states, 85 per cent of young people are confident that their countries have been heading in the right direction over the past five years, but in the Levant and Yemen, which face mounting social, political and economic challenges, 85 per cent believe their countries are headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey.

In the survey, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan times, 78 per cent of youth in the Arabian Gulf countries say their best days are still to come, while, conversely, two-thirds (66 per cent) of their peers in the Levant and Yemen believe their countries’ best days are behind them.  

“The stark divide between the views of youth in the GCC nations and those in the Levant and North Africa is clearly related to the huge differences in access to opportunity”, said Sunil John, Founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. 

“Optimism should be the default attitude for youth, and the fact that so many young people, in so many nations, today believe that their countries’ best days are behind them should be a real cause for concern for policymakers across the region.”

The threat posed by the Daesh terror group, which was viewed in last year’s report as the number one issue facing the Middle East, is seen this year as diminishing with 35 per cent of those surveyed putting unemployment as the top concern. Sixty-one per cent of the surveyed segment believes that the terror group is getting weaker.

Furthermore, 70 per cent of young Arabs say Donald Trump is anti-Muslim and 49 per cent also agree that the US president’s travel ban imposed on Muslim-majority countries would make it easier for extremist groups to radicalise and recruit young Muslims.