The key findings of the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2018 are in! You must be wondering - what do 200 million Arab Youth have to say about their future and other aspects of their nation?
Now in its 10th edition, the annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey offers unique insight into the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s biggest demographic, which means all those under 30 and who will make an important contribution to civil discourse across the region in the future.
Lets look at these survey findings in detail.
UAE is the country most of the youth would love to live in, as it is considered a progressive, modern nation. This is the seventh time in a row that it has been voted as the top country to live in, surpassing all other nations. Not only that, an overwhelming majority of 35% voted for UAE.
The youth feel that the past decade, because of the Arab Spring, has been flaky. It seems they do not support the political agenda of the revolution. In fact, 55% felt they have moved in the wrong direction.
Young Arabs expressed a high degree of faith and reposed trust in Mohammed Bin Salman's leadership. In fact, 59% of the youth felt they would move in the right direction by emulating Mohammed Bin Salman's directions.
As per the survey, the top four priorities necessary for the Arab world to move in the right direction are as follows: 34% of the youth felt that defeating terrorist organizations is the top priority, 30% of the youth believed that creating well paying jobs is the most important function, 29% want modernisation of education to be the focus and 28% think fighting corruption as the move in the right direction.
The Saudi Government's decision to let women drive received overhwelming support from the youth, across lines of gender and geographical divides. However, there was a feeling that more could be done in the arena of women's rights. 88% of the youth felt women should be allowed to drive, which is a very strong percentage indeed.
Arab Youth increasingly say that the ideology of Daesh will be defeated and the terrorist organization will lose all meaning, validation or means to progress.
Most of the youth reported that they get their news on social media, and not on television. CNN was reported as the most trustworthy news channel. In fact, almost 55% reported they prefer the social media as means of getting news, rather than traditional news sources.
Inspired by the digital revolution and driven to succeed in the tech field, 10% of Arab youth felt that the world of the Internet is the way forward. They are increasingly becoming tech-savvy and moving in the direction of fulfilling their dreams via jobs in IT sector.
UAE and Saudi Arabia are seen as allies by 37% and 35% of the Arab youth, respectively, because of their policies and administrative work. USA is viewed as an advesary, however, and not a country to be trusted.
86% of the youth in Levant felt that their country was moving in the wrong direction, as opposed to only 7% in GCG and 51% in North Africa. The majority of the youth are cynical about their government in Levant and are completely disillusioned.
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