The fifteenth annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey found that 24% of Arab youth considered the UAE the best place to live, followed by the United States and Canada at 19%, Qatar at 14% and the Kingdom, the United States at 13%.

A further 22% of young Arab men and women said they wanted their countries to follow the UAE, putting the UAE ahead of the US at 19%, Canada at 16% and Qatar at 15%, while Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom came next. They were 11 % ranks fifth, marking the first time since 2017 that the Kingdom has been tested as a country of choice by Arab youth. Countries to follow.

The survey revealed the reasons for examining the UAE as a preferred country to live in, including 41% of respondents enjoying a safe environment, growing economy by 28%, and its management through smart leadership. 24%, its difference due to clean environment 22% and ease of doing business for others 20%.

Another 17% believed that it offers a wide range of job opportunities, 13% that it offers a good salary, while 12% of the participants emphasized that it is easy to get a residence visa in the UAE. 19% of respondents praised the UAE as a unique place to raise a family, and 16% said it had a high-quality education system and rich cultural heritage.

The survey published this year by “ASDA’A BCW” titled “A new reality and a changing perspective” and its results will be announced at a press conference in the meantime, is considered to be very comprehensive. The largest survey of the region covering a population of over 200 million young men and women.

The survey was conducted between March 27 and April 12, 2023, and included more than 3,600 individual interviews conducted by experienced interviewers with Arab men and women between the ages of 18 and 24.

The largest pool of participants in the survey’s history was evenly distributed between genders across 53 cities in 18 Arab countries, including South Sudan, which joined the list for the first time. Interviews were conducted in person and electronically to ensure the accuracy of the research and to clarify as many nuances as possible in the opinions of Arab youth in the region.

Sunil John, President of BCW in the Middle East and North Africa and Founder of ASDA’A BCW, said, “The UAE is a preferred destination for Arab youth for job opportunities and opportunities for a dignified life and the prevailing uncertainty. Other regions and the economic situation.” The current world in highlighting the advantages of the UAE and the vision of its brilliant leadership.

John said the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are witnessing a boom in their economies, investing in world-class infrastructure and helping them become major hubs of trade, finance, tourism, education and healthcare. By valuing the importance of providing employment opportunities and achieving prosperity, these countries set an example and provide the skills necessary to achieve a better and more fulfilling life.

The “ASDA’A BCW” album revealed key findings from the first of six topics covered in the survey, known as “My Global Citizenship,” which included exploring various geopolitical issues, including the United States. Intervention in the Arab world and its disengagement from the region. It will be published. ASDA’A BCW” in the coming weeks, the results of the survey related to the five other topics covered in the survey, including the topics of financial status, aspirations, identity, education and media.

Results on the “My Global Citizenship” print show that 86% of young Arabs consider Israel a “real enemy or somewhat of an enemy,” and 57% say the same about Iran.

Arab youth considered all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt as true allies, with 92% of them choosing Qatar as a “true ally” or “somewhat ally”, 91% of them choosing Kuwait, 86% of them choosing Egypt, and 88% of them choosing the United Nations. chose the Arab Emirates, while 86% chose Saudi Arabia.

33% of Arab youth polled say the US still has the greatest influence in the Arab world; It was followed by the United Arab Emirates at 11%, Saudi Arabia and Israel at 10%, and Russia at 8%, with only 3% finding Turkba to have the greatest influence, and 4% citing soaps.

In terms of alliances with non-Arab countries, 82% of Arab youth described the Turkba as a “real ally” or “somewhat ally” of their countries, followed by China at 80%, then the United Kingdom at 79%, Germany at 78% and France at 78% at 74%, the United States at 72%. It ranked seventh with votes, second only to India with 73%. Sixty-six percent of young Arabs say they consider the United States and the United Kingdom to be “real allies” for their country over the next five years, rather than Russia or China.

According to the results of the survey, more than 66% of young Arabs oppose US intervention in the affairs of the Middle East, as they say they “strongly” or “somewhat” support the US from the Middle East. region.
As for Russia, it now ranks ninth among allies, as it received 63% of the poll’s participants, behind Pakistan, which received 69%, following Russia’s position as one of the top three allies in last year’s poll.
Regarding the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, 28% of respondents said that diplomatic negotiations would lead to an appropriate solution, while 25% found that the conflict would continue “for a long time without a clear solution.”

The political future of the region

The Fifteenth Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Poll published by “ASDA’A BCW”, a strategic communications and public relations consultancy in the Middle East and North Africa region, revealed the participation of about 60% of Arab youth. The survey believes that relations between Iran, Israel and the West will deteriorate and eventually lead to military conflict. A large percentage of them predicted that the Iranian government would become more authoritarian in the future, and 35% of respondents predicted that the country would see more civil unrest or even a coup.

According to the results of the survey, 55% of Arab youth between the ages of 18 and 24 reject the possibility that the 75-year-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved in the next five years, although 60% of young people prefer the possibility of the GCC countries reaching a positive solution.

Most Arab youth oppose normalizing relations with Israel, but majorities in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco support strengthening diplomatic ties with it.

When Arab youth were asked whether they supported or would support their governments’ decision to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel, 75% of Emirati youth supported their country’s decision to sign the Abraham Accords to normalize relations, and 73% supported it. % of Arab youth in Egypt and about 50% in Morocco and 35% of Arab youth in Bahrain support normalizing and improving relations with Israel.

Poll results show that 31% of young people from South Sudan vote in favor of strengthening ties with Israel, 13% in Tunisia, 13% in Kuwait, 19% in Syria and Yemen, and 47% from South Sudan. In Jordan, a majority of 6% oppose, while in both Palestine and Iraq, 100% of young people polled oppose establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, and 98% of Arab youth. Lebanon opposes treaties and diplomatic relations with Israel, as do 94% of Arab youth in Sudan, the fourth Arab country to have full diplomatic relations with Israel.