- 11th annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey reveals nine-in-ten young Saudis believe Vision 2030 will secure the future of the Saudi economy
- Young Saudis say the Kingdom’s government has the right policies to address the issues most important to youth
- Among young Arabs across the region, Saudi Arabia is perceived as an ally whose influence on the Arab world is on the rise
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; April 30, 2019: The vast majority of young Saudis say their country is headed in the right direction, the Saudi economy is on the right track,and the governmentis effectivelyaddressing issues most important to young people, according to the findings of the11th annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, released today.
The survey is based on 3,300 face-to-face interviews conducted by international research firm PSB between January 6 and 29, 2019 with young Arab nationals aged 18-24 in 15 states in the Middle East and North Africa, with a 50:50 male female split.
More than nine-in-ten (93 per cent) of young Saudis say the Kingdom is headed in the right direction and 83 per cent say the Saudi economy is on the right track. Saudi youth are significantly more optimistic than young Arabs in many other countries, with just overhalf (53 per cent) of young Arabs across the region saying their country is headed in the right direction, and 53 per cent saying their nation’s economy is on the right track.
Young Saudis express strong optimism about their personal future, with three-in-four(75 per cent) saying they will have a better life than their parents, while just 10 per cent expect to be worse off than their parents.
This strong sense of optimism translates to Saudi youth giving high marks to the Kingdom’s government and its policies. Nearly nine-in-ten (89 per cent) are confident that Vision 2030 will succeed in securing the future of the Saudi economy and nearly as many (83 per cent) say their government has the right policies to address the issues most important to young people. Meanwhile, only 54 per cent of young Arabs across the regionexpress confidence in their respective government’s policies on issues key to young people.
Among Arab youth across the region, Saudi Arabia is seen as an influential ally. Young Arabs say the Kingdom has increased its influence in the region more than any other Arab country in the past five years (37 per cent for Saudi Arabia, compared to 27 per cent for the UAE, 11 per cent for Egypt, and 21 per cent for other Arab countries). A strong majority (80 per cent) of young Arabs across the region say Saudi Arabia is an ally of their country. Saudi Arabia is widely perceived to be an ally by the majority of young people in Middle East, with 80 per cent saying the Kingdom is an ally of their nation. Young Arabs also believe that the Kingdom is the Arab country that has most increased its influence in the Middle East over the past five years.
Sunil John, President – Middle East of ASDA’A BCW, said: “Across all indicators Saudi youth are extremely optimistic about their future and share a positive outlook about the direction of their country. This is underlined by their vote of confidence in the Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap, which is transforming the economy and creating job opportunities.It comes as no surprise that an overwhelming majority of Saudi youth say their government has the right policies in place to address the issues most important to the Kingdom’s youth.”
Read the full findings and expert insight and commentary on this year’s ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey at www.arabyouthsurvey.com
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About ASDA’A BCW
ASDA’A was founded in 2000 as an independent agency by Sunil John, who continues to lead in the agency’s 20th year. In 2008, WPP acquired a majority stake in the firm. ASDA’A became an integral part of the Burson-Marsteller global network. After the recent merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe to create Burson Cohn & Wolfe, the firm is now ASDA’A BCW. Today, the agency employs over 160 professionals across nine wholly-owned offices and seven affiliates in 15 Middle East & North Africa (MENA) countries. The Agency now serves more than 100 retained clients in the region and is the leading PR consultancy in MENA. www.asdaa-bcw.com
The ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey underlines the agency’s ‘power of three’ model, which combines public relations, research and digital capabilities through three specialist brands. ASDA’A BCW works closely with its sister company PSB Middle East, the research firm, which conducted 3,300 face-to-face interviews with young Arab nationals aged 18 to 24 in 15 MENA countries; while Proof, the digital, data and design agency, drives digital and creative aspects of the Survey including the new logo and brand identity, and its digital and social presence.
About the Arab Youth Survey
Now in its 11th year, the annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey is one of the most important pieces of research produced in the Middle East and offers unique insight into the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s biggest demographic.With 65 per cent of the Arab population under the age of 30, the Survey presents evidence-based insights into the attitudes of Arab youth, providing public and private sector organisations with data and analysis to inform their decision-making and policy creation.The survey is the largest of its kind of the region’s largest demographic, based on face-to-face interviews with 3,300 Arab men and women aged 18-24, and covers five of the Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia) the Levant (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine) and Yemen.
www.arabyouthsurvey.com
About PSB
PSB is a full-service custom research and analytics consultancy that connects data-driven insights with human experience to solve clients’ most critical challenges. With a heritage in political polling, PSB brings the agility of campaign strategy to research and consulting across a range of industries, including technology, healthcare, financial services and entertainment. PSB is a member of the BCW Group of companies, which is a part of WPP, the world leader in communications services.
www.psbresearch.com