Residents of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah should be feeling good right now, as the United Arab Emirates came out as the top country to live in on a recent Arab youth survey.
More Arab youth want to live in the UAE than in any other country in the world for the fourth year running according to the annual Arab Youth Survey conducted by ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. The UAE leads with 20 percent of respondents selecting the Gulf nation followed by the United States with 15 percent, Germany with 10 percent and Canada with 10 percent.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia tied for 5th place, with 8 percent of respondents choosing the Gulf nations as their ideal place to live. Twenty-two percent of respondents also see the UAE as the ideal nation for their own countries to emulate, followed by the United States with 15 percent, Germany with 11 percent, Canada with 8 percent, and France with 8 percent.
Surveying a range of topics, the study also revealed many other interesting insights about Arab youths changing viewpoints. Belief in the importance of democracy seems to be waning as only 15 percent viewed "lack of democracy" as one of the biggest obstacles in the region, down from 38 percent last year and 43 percent in 2013.
While the majority of respondents (73 percent) agreed that the Arabic language was central to their identity, 47 percent also believe that the language is losing its value, with 63 percent agreeing that English would advance their career prospects more than their native language.
With the director general of the Arab Labor Organization recently stating that 30 percent of the region's youth are unemployed, the finding of this new study seems to add up. With better job prospects and higher salaries available in the UAE, it only makes sense that Arab youth would view the Gulf nation as the go-to destination. With the growing importance of English within the UAE and other Gulf nations, regional youth understandably recognize the importance of gaining fluency in the second language.
The study was conducted with 3,500 youth between the ages of 18 and 24, representing 16 different Arab countries. The aim of the annual study is "to present 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 formation."
View the full report here .