North Africa and Levant
Around half of young people from the Arab world want to emigrate – their dream destination is not Germany
Young people in Morocco (archive image)
© Spencer Platt / Getty Images
According to a study, high unemployment and poor economic prospects cloud the future prospects of young people in North Africa and the Middle East. Many of them want to leave their homeland.
They expect better life chances abroad: more than half of all young people in North African countries and states in the Levant region want to leave their homeland. That’s according to a study by global communications agency Asda’a BCW, based in Dubai out.
For the latest “Arab Youth Survey”, personal interviews were conducted with 3,600 people between the ages of 18 and 24 in 18 countries, including on their plans for the future.
The goal of emigration is a job
The result: 48 percent of young people from North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, South Sudan and Tunisia) are actively trying to emigrate or are seriously considering it. In the Levant region (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen) it is even 53 percent.
According to the study, the primary goal is to find a job abroad. The majority of those surveyed see their economies as heading in the “wrong direction”. The high level of (youth) unemployment and gloomy economic prospects cloud the prospects for the future in their home countries. But the desire to “experience something new” also drives some of the respondents to want to emigrate.
In the Gulf States of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, young people are more optimistic about the future. Here only about one in five wants to move to another country. Around nine out of ten respondents there also believe that the economy in their home country is moving in the “right direction”.
Despite the dissatisfaction of many young people in the region, they are optimistic about the future. A majority believe that the best days are yet to come and that they will be better off than their parents.
Dream destination Canada
“Despite the grim economic situation in North Africa and the Levant, the youthful exuberance to be optimistic about the future is shining through,” said Sunil John, head and founder of the communications agency, on the results of the survey. “This is reflected in the fact that most young Arabs are defiantly hoping for their chances at a better life. These findings underscore that Arab countries need to focus on creating the right environment for young people to thrive – taking responsibility for it rests with both the government and the private sector.” He points to the “enormous burden” that the emigration of young people places on the economy in the Arab world. More than 200 million people are under 30 years old there.
The respondents’ dream emigration destination is Canada. 34 percent would like to live there, followed by the United States (30 percent). Together with Great Britain, Germany is in third place (20 percent each) ahead of France (17 percent).
Source: “Arab Youth Survey”