Evidence-based insights into the hopes, attitudes and aspirations of the over 200 million Arab youth
3,400
Face-to-face interviews only with country nationals
18 - 24
The age group of Arab youth surveyed
50
Cities in 17 Arab states
50 : 50
Sample split: Male/Female
Why We Do This
The 14th Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey is one of the most important pieces of research produced in the Middle East and North Africa. It offers unique insight into the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s biggest demographic, its over 200 million youth.
The survey fills an important gap in the data and insights on this influential community. It informs governments, the private sector, multilateral institutions and academia on policymaking and future strategy.
We conduct the ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey every year for two reasons:
1. To deliver valuable insights on what defines the region – its youthful demographic - with tracking data to show what is changing on the ground
2. To provide the key findings of the survey on this website giving governments, the private sector and civil society across the world free access to key information to support policy-making and strategy development
To ensure the survey’s independence and credibility, we fund the survey entirely ourselves. Over the last 14 years, we have built a growing library of insights accessible to all.
2022 Survey Methodology
The 14th Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey 2022 was conducted among Arab youth across 50 cities in 17 states in the Middle East and North Africa.
The survey was conducted from May 13 to June 16, 2022, covering 3,400 young Arabs through face-to-face interviews conducted by professional interviewers. The interviews were completed in Arabic and English with young Arab men and women, exclusively young nationals in each state. The sample split was 50:50 male/female.
Regions covered
The survey covered five of the Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia), and the Levant (Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen).
The geographic location of respondents was considered when developing the fieldwork methodology with, for example, 40%of UAE respondents in Abu Dhabi, 40%in Dubai and 20%in Sharjah.
Saudi respondents were drawn from three of the country’s main cities, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam; youth in the Palestinian Territories from the West Bank and Gaza; Oman’s youth from Muscat and Batinah; Lebanese youth from Beirut, Saida and Tripoli; Tunisian youth from Tunis, Sfax and Soussa; Iraqi youth from Baghdad, Irbil and Basrah; Egyptian youth from Cairo, Alexandria, and Mansoura, and so on, across each state.
When analysed, this geographic spread provides a more accurate national picture than findings based solely on the responses of those living in capital cities.
17 Arab States & Territories
The largest study of its kind of the Arab world’s largest demographic - its over 200 million youth, covering 50 cities and territories in 17 states across the Middle East and North Africa
Bahrain
Population (mn)1.74
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)87.15
Contribution of oil to GDP7.4%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)9.9%
Internet users (mn)1.74
Internet penetration100%
Active social media users (mn)1.55
Active social media penetration87.8%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)1.79
Mobile phone penetration103%
Kuwait
Population (mn)4.32
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)245.18
Contribution of oil to GDP31.6%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)25.5%
Internet users (mn)4.27
Internet penetration99%
Active social media users (mn)4.05
Active social media penetration93%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)6.86
Mobile phone penetration110%
Oman
Population (mn)5.22
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)165.95
Contribution of oil to GDP19.37%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)14.6%
Internet users (mn)4.95
Internet penetration95%
Active social media users (mn)4.39
Active social media penetration83.2%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)6.99
Mobile phone penetration134%
Saudi Arabia
Population (mn)35.34
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)2,000
Contribution of oil to GDP42%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)28.8%
Internet users (mn)34.63
Internet penetration98%
Active social media users (mn)29.3
Active social media penetration82.3%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)43.8
Mobile phone penetration124%
United Arab Emirates
Population (mn)9.99
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)779.23
Contribution of oil to GDP28%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)10.7%
Internet users (mn)9.99
Internet penetration100%
Active social media users (mn)10.65
Active social media penetration106%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)18.58
Mobile phone penetration186%
Jordan
Population (mn)10.26
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)122.18
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)40.5%
Internet users (mn)6.75
Internet penetration66%
Active social media users (mn)6.85
Active social media penetration66.6%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)6.97
Mobile phone penetration68%
Iraq
Population (mn)41.18
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)512.93
Contribution of oil to GDP32.2%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)27.2%
Internet users (mn)24.7
Internet penetration60%
Active social media users (mn)28.35
Active social media penetration68%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)38.29
Mobile phone penetration93%
Lebanon
Population (mn)6.76
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)31.3
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)29.6%
Internet users (mn)5.67
Internet penetration84%
Active social media users (mn)5.06
Active social media penetration75.2%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)4.25
Mobile phone penetration63%
Palestinian Territories
Population (mn)4.92
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)33.4
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)39.6%
Internet users (mn)3.69
Internet penetration75%
Active social media users (mn)3.4
Active social media penetration64.3%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)4.13
Mobile phone penetration84%
Syria
Population (mn)18.27
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)60.05
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)26.2%
Internet users (mn)6.5
Internet penetration36%
Active social media users (mn)6
Active social media penetration35%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)13.59
Mobile phone penetration95%
Yemen
Population (mn)30.49
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)65.6
Contribution of oil to GDP10%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)25.5%
Internet users (mn)8.2
Internet penetration27%
Active social media users (mn)3.5
Active social media penetration11.4%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)15.54
Mobile phone penetration51%
Algeria
Population (mn)44.61
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)586.17
Contribution of oil to GDP10.2%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)31.9%
Internet users (mn)28.1
Internet penetration63%
Active social media users (mn)26.6
Active social media penetration59.1%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)46.39
Mobile phone penetration104%
Egypt
Population (mn)104.25
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)1,560
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)24.3%
Internet users (mn)75.06
Internet penetration72%
Active social media users (mn)51.45
Active social media penetration48.9%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)96.95
Mobile phone penetration93%
Libya
Population (mn)6.96
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)124.33
Contribution of oil to GDP60%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)50.5%
Internet users (mn)1.25
Internet penetration18%
Active social media users (mn)6.4
Active social media penetration91.4%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)2.99
Mobile phone penetration43%
Morocco
Population (mn)37.34
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)331.54
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)27.2%
Internet users (mn)31.36
Internet penetration84%
Active social media users (mn)23.8
Active social media penetration63.4%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)50.03
Mobile phone penetration134%
Sudan
Population (mn)44.9
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)207.34
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)35.6%
Internet users (mn)12.57
Internet penetration28%
Active social media users (mn)1.3
Active social media penetration3%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)1.3
Mobile phone penetration80%
Tunisia
Population (mn)11.93
GDP PPP (US$ bn - 2021 est.)149.18
Contribution of oil to GDP-%
Youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment (% of total labour force)38.3%
Internet users (mn)8.58
Internet penetration72%
Active social media users (mn)8.15
Active social media penetration68%
Mobile subscriptions (mn)15.03
Mobile phone penetration126%
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Sources
Population: World Bank Estimates, based on UN Population Division Data (shorturl.at/ory67)
GDP: International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook (2022 GDP PP estimates) - shorturl.at/imuES; For Syria, 2022 Index of Economic Freedom (https://www.heritage.org/index/country/syria); For Lebanon, The World Bank Economic Update (shorturl.at/afmU0)
Share of oil in GDP: OPEC (www.opec.org) Bahrain (Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report 2021) Oman (Central Bank of Oman Annual Report 2019) Iraq (World Bank Group - Iraq Economic Monitor, Fall 2020) Yemen (The World FactBook)
Youth unemployment: 2021 estimate by International Labour Organisation (MENA: shorturl.at/DQU13; Sudan: shorturl.at/nx037)
Internet users & Internet penetration; Mobile Subscribers & Mobile Phone Penetration: UN International Telecommunications Union estimates (shorturl.at/giqyZ)
Social Media users & social media penetration: Data Reportal (shorturl.at/CFHT3); Data for Sudan and Syria is for 2020 as no newer estimates are available