Arab youth are considerably more optimistic about the future than their Western peers, said a survey.

Just 34 per cent of Western youth feel their country is heading on the right tack. In contrast, Arab youth are considerably more optimistic with 52 per cent arguing their country is on the right course, according to the first ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey.

The research was conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and The Nielsen. They interviewed 1,800 respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 in six Middle East nations – Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and three Western countries – Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the Middle East countries surveyed, 65 per cent of Saudi youth, 60 per cent of Jordanian youth and 57 per cent of Emirati youth are optimistic about their nations moving in the correct direction. This may be partly due to the fact that fewer and fewer young people read daily newspapers or closely follow geopolitical events. The survey says it is equally possible that such findings point to one of the most significant responses to globalisation: the increasing localisation of perspectives and concomitant hardening of national identities in response to this same trend.

Arab youth have fallen under scrutiny for their opinions, views, consumption trends for a quite simple reason. The West is getting older, while the Middle East is growing younger by the day. Never before in history has the Arab World faced such a significant youth population bulge. Today, one in five people in the Middle East are between the ages of 15 and 24. In contrast, by 2040, one in five Americans will be aged 65 or older – compared to barely one in eight in 2000. The current challenges in the stability of the financial order are enormous in scale and global in shape, the survey concludes

"This important study of the hopes, fears and aspirations of Arab and Western youth demonstrates how both groups are adapting to the forces of change – and how their values are evolving over time," said Mark Penn, Worldwide CEO of Burson Marsteller and President of Penn Schoen and Berland, and former advisor to Bill Clinton.

Looking at the young Arab population, he added: "Youth is going to dominate the market as they do in culture and society."

"The reason why we are studying the Arab youth is that they belong to a market that will continue to grow at a rate of six to seven per cent while the rest of the world, mainly the US and Europe expect to see zero per cent growth in the coming year," said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO, Burson Marsteller Emea.

He added: "The survey found that Arab youth tend to look to social networking and are significant consumers of internet news."

Consequently, with information online having greater impact, and with youth spending more time communicating via internet, public relations seems to earn a more significant role. The digital environment is giving us a much better way to measure and prove to the client how important earned media is compared to the escalating costs of digital advertising, such as Yahoo and Google and others, he said.

Set to become an annual survey, it found that the rising cost of living and overall economic outlook is the overriding concern for both groups, including 43 per cent of Western youth and 30 per cent in the Arab world. In the Middle East, Jordanian youths expressed the greatest level of fear for their financial security, with 42 per cent highlighting this area. By comparison, only 23 per cent of Qatari youth cited the rising cost of living and overall economic outlook as a central challenge.



Survey highlights

- Western youth are generally pessimistic about the future, while Middle East youth are optimistic: Just 34 per cent of Western youth feel that things in their country are heading in the right direction. In the Middle East, youth are considerably more optimistic, with 52 per cent arguing that their country is heading the right way.

- Religion is enormously important to Middle East youth, especially when compared to their Western peers: Some 68 per cent of Middle East youth say that religion defines them as a person, compared to just 16 per cent in the West. Asked to name an influence on them and their outlook on life, 62 per cent of Middle East youth listed religion, compared to just 38 per cent of their Western peers.

- National identity and traditional values are extremely important to Arab youth, but not for their peers in the West: nine per cent of Arab youth say that the loss of traditional values and culture is the greatest challenge facing the world today, a sentiment which statistically insignificant percentage of their Western peers agree with. Likewise, Arab youth generally very strongly agree that their national identity is very important to them, while Western youth view the same as only moderately important.

- Arab youth generally admire political, religious and business leaders, while Western youth do not: Asked whom they look up to, 30 per cent of Arab youth cited government leaders, compared to just nine per cent of their Western peers. Likewise, while just five per cent of Western youth said they looked up to religious leaders, 31 per cent Middle East youth claimed admiration for the same group. In the economic space, 29 per cent of Arab youth look up to business leaders, a sentiment shared by only five per cent of youth in the West.

- Family and friends are equally important to Middle East and Western youth: Precisely 64 per cent of Arab and Western youth say that their family defines who they are as a person, with both groups citing family as one of the most important factors in this area. The two also agree that friends are among the key determinants in defining their identity, with concurrence from 57 per cent of Western youth and 61 per cent of their Arab peers.

- Arab youth want to make a difference, while Western youth mostly just want to get ahead: 11 per cent of Arab youth say success means being enlightened spiritually and 34 per cent say it is making the world a better place – compared to five per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in the West.

- Arab and Western male youth have very different opinions about gender equality in the workplace: 79 per cent of Western male youth believe that men and women should have equal opportunities in the workplace, while just 58 per cent of their male counterparts in the Middle East agree. In striking contrast to the attitudes of their male peers, 73 per cent of female Arab youth feel that they should have equal opportunities for professional advancement.

- Consumer and lifestyle habits of Arab and Western youth are strikingly similar: Young people in the West and Middle East indulge in similar activities, use similar technologies and have similar lifestyle habits. Both spend the majority of their disposable incomes on going out and shopping for clothes/shoes. The two groups constantly worry about their appearance.

- Global brands have transnational appeal among Middle East and Western youth: Despite some differences, young people view many brands with similar levels of warmth. The top brands for young people in the Middle East include Nokia, Sony, Toyota and Toshiba – all of which have similarly high favourability levels for the West.

- Europe is the top desired travel destination for both Arab and Western youth: 74 per cent of Western youth and 49 per cent of Arab youth would be interested in travelling to Europe in the future. Both groups would also be interested in travelling to North Africa – including 35 per cent of Western youth and 21 per cent of their Arab peers.