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28 March 2024

Top 10 trends that will shape the future of Mena

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

With the social media boom over the last three years, the Arab youth has shaped into a globally savvy entrepreneur, one that is poised at the cusp of leaving behind traditional teachings to embrace a modern outlook on life that will allow them the freedom to rewrite their destiny.

As the findings of the sixth annual Arab Youth Survey 2014 reveals, the 18-24 year old demographic shows great faith in their national economy to offer stability, both politically and economically.

Here are the top 10 trends to emerge from the study that was commissioned by Asda’a Burson Marstellar, which interviewed 3,500 respondents across 16 countries in the Arab World.

1 A growing number of Arab youth are embracing modern values, while family, friends and religion continue to shape their opinions and influence their lives.
A growing number of Arab youth are adopting modern values as digital technology reshapes behaviour and attitudes. However, family, friends, parents and religion still have the most influence on youngsters and their outlook on life.

2 Youngsters are confident in their national governments’ ability to deal with a wide range of issues.
Arab youth are confident in their governments’ ability to deal with a wide range of issues including living standards, economic stability and unemployment but the positive momentum felt during the Arab Spring is declining.

3 Rising living costs and unemployment are the biggest concerns for youth across the Middle East For the fourth year running, Arab youth cite the rising cost of living as their biggest concern, closely followed by anxiety about unemployment, which has been steadily rising year-on-year.

4 Arab youth believe that civil unrest is the biggest obstacle facing the region
The majority of Arab youth believe that civil unrest is the biggest obstacle facing the Middle East and will define the region’s ability to thrive in the future.

5 Entrepreneurial spirit is high and a growing number of young Arabs would like to work in the private sector
More Arab youth are likely to start a business than in previous generations. Though the government sector remains a popular choice, an increasing number of young Arabs would like to work in the private sector.

6 The UAE is the country that most Arab youth would like to live in and is seen as a model for their country to emulate
For the third year running, the UAE remains the most popular country to live in and the country Arab youth would most like their country to emulate.

7 Arab youth consider their country’s biggest allies to be regional neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE rather than traditional  Western countries
When asked to think about their country’s biggest ally, Arab youth are choosing their GCC neighbours over traditional western countries as Gulf governments’ political weight grows.

8 Arab youth are increasingly concerned about obesity and lifestyle diseases and do not believe that healthcare in their country is improving
Concern about obesity and diabetes is rising but many young Arabs believe that healthcare in their country has not improved in the last 12 months.

9 An overwhelming majority of young Arabs believe they are entitled to subsidised energy costs, while concern about climate change is low across the region
Nearly 70 per cent of young Arabs believe they are entitled to subsidised utilities and petrol, and while concern about climate change is rising, it ranks significantly behind other issues in terms of priority.

10 Television is the most popular source of news for the sixth year running, but a growing number of young Arabs are turning to online and social networks to get their news
Television remains the most dominant source of information for the sixth consecutive year but a growing number of Arab youth are going online to get their news.

[Image via Shutterstock]