It seems like things in the Arab world are going so well; 65% of Saudi youth, 60% of Jordanian youth and 57% of Emirati youth feel their country is heading in the right direction. According to the Arab Youth Survey by ASDA’A, 52% of Arab youth are optimistic about the direction of their countries, while only 34% of Western youth feel their country is heading in the right direction.
The survey was conducted on 1,800 young people between the ages of 18-24 was carried out in six Middle East states (Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), and three Western nations (Germany, the UK and the US).
30% of Arab youth were concerned about the rising cost of living and overall economic outlook, compared to 43% of Western youth, that’s it? 30% only? Jordanian youth expressed the greatest level of fear for their financial security, with 42% highlighting this area, seriously, only 42%? Does this look right?
In Qatar 23% of the youth cited the rising cost of living and overall economic outlook as a central challenge. 68% of Middle East youth say that religion defines them as a person, compared to just 16% in the West. Personally I feel it’s a lame way to announce ASDA’A rebranding to ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller.
Anyway, here are the key findings of the First ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey:
(1) Western youth are generally pessimistic about the future, while Middle East youth are optimistic. Just 34% 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% arguing that their country is heading in the right direction.
(2) Religion is enormously important to Middle East youth, especially when compared to their Western peers. Some 68% of Middle East youth say that religion defines them as a person, compared to just 16% in the West. Asked to name an influence on them and their outlook on life, 62% of Middle East youth listed religion, compared to just 38% of their Western peers.
(3) National identity and traditional values are extremely important to Arab youth, but not for their peers in the West. 9% of Arab youth say that the loss of traditional values and culture is the greatest challenge facing the world today, a sentiment a 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.
(4) Arab youth generally admire political, religious and business leaders, while Western youth do not. Asked whom they look up to, 30% of Arab youth cited government leaders, compared to just 9% of their Western peers. Likewise, while just 5% of Western youth said they looked up to religious leaders, 31% Middle East youth claimed admiration for the same group. In the economic space, 29% of Arab youth look up to business leaders, a sentiment shared by only 5% of youth in the West.
(5) Family and friends are equally important to Middle East and Western youth. Precisely 64% 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% of Western youth and 61% of their Arab peers.
(6) Arab youth want to make a difference, while Western youth mostly just want to get ahead. 11% of Arab youth say success means being enlightened spiritually and 34% say it is making the world a better place, compared to 5% and 12%, respectively, in the West.
(7) Arab and Western male youth have very different opinions about gender equality in the workplace. 79% of Western male youth believe that men and women should have equal opportunities in the workplace, while just 58% of their male counterparts in the Middle East agree. In striking contrast to the attitudes of their male peers, 73% of female Arab youth feel that they should have equal opportunities for professional advancement.
(8) 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. Both groups constantly worry about their appearance.
(9) 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.
(10) Europe is the top desired travel destination for both Arab and Western youth. 74% of Western youth and 49% 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% of Western youth and 21% of their Arab peers.
Only three Arabic countries made it to the Country Brand Index 2008, a global index that ranks the top 10 marketed countries in different aspects, each of United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt were ranked among some of these categories.
United Arab Emirates:
1st in Resort & Lodging Options
2nd in Shopping
2nd in New Country for Business
2nd in Most Impressive Last Year
3rd in Rising Star
7th in Fine Dining
7th in Conferences
10th in Standard of Living
10th in Advanced Technology
Egypt:
1st in History
3rd in Art & Culture
6th in Authenticity
Qatar:
5th in New Country for Business
9th in Conferences
Below is the top 10 countries worldwide, if you would like to view the full report, click this image.
Reporters without Borders has issued the annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2008, Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway came on the top of the list, followed by Estonia in the 4th place, Finland and Ireland ranked 5th, while Belgium came in 7th place. In the Arab world, Kuwait came 61 worldwide and was on top of Arab countries, followed by Lebanon 66, UAE 69, Qatar 74, and Bahrain 96.
Arab countries in Press Freedom Index 2008:
61. Kuwait
66. Lebanon
69. United Arab Emirates
74. Qatar
96. Bahrain
105. Mauritania
121. Algeria
122. Morocco
123. Oman
128. Jordan
134. Djibouti
135. Sudan
143. Tunisia
146. Egypt
153. Somalia
155. Yemen
158. Iraq
159. Syria
160. Libya
161. Saudi Arabia
163. Palestinian Territories
check out the full report and list.
An interesting list from Arabian Business highlighting the top 50 publicly traded real estate companies in the Middle East, not surprisingly Emaar Properties from the UAE came first. Few companies weren’t in the list such as Tameer, Nakheel, Hydra and Damac, I’m not sure why, but it could be because they are totally private companies.
source
According to a recent report by GulfTalent.com, salaries in Arabian Gulf countries witnessed an increase of 11.4%, compared to 9% in 2007. Salaries in the UAE enjoyed the highest increment that reached 13.6%, Qatar came second with 12.7%, followed by Oman with 12.1%, Bahrain 10.5%, Kuwait 10.1%, and finally Saudi Arabia with 9.8%.
The report suggests that many factors contribute to salary increases in Arabian Gulf countries, including inflation, dollar exchange rate, salaries increment in India, among many others.
Rents cause big concerns for expats in Gulf, for many people rent eats a lot of their monthly salary, Oman witnessed a serious increment in rents that reached 42%, while in Qatar it was 26%, UAE 25%, Bahrain 18%, Saudi Arabia 17%, and Kuwait 15%. Employees in the construction sector were the luckiest as their salaries witnessed the highest increment that reached 15.1%, while banking 12.2%, and Retail & FMCG at 11.9%.
The UAE seems to be the most attractive country in the Gulf, 66% of expats in GCC wish to relocate to it, and 77% of expats in UAE expressed their wish to remain in the country. 32% of expats in Qatar wish to stay there, while 23% of total expats in GCC wish to move to it. Kuwait and Oman seem to be the less attractive countries in the Gulf, but managed to have a good retention rate of 58% and 46% respectively. Saudi Arabia was an attraction of 14% of total expats in Gulf countries, and came 5th in the retention rate list.
This part is a bit interesting, 90% of the population of the UAE are expats, 90%! Things are similar in Qatar and Kuwait, with 89% of the population in Qatar being expats, and in Kuwait 81%. Asians enjoyed the highest salary increase, followed by Arabs (Non GCC), Western, and finally Arabs (GCC).
The following tables shows some facts about compensation packages, as you can see 30% of the package in Qatar goes for housing allowance, and yet rent eats 40% of the income, which means that your housing allowance in Qatar doesn’t cover your house rent. Same thing goes for the rest of countries, 27% of packages in UAE is allocated for housing, while it eats 34%.
To download the full report click here.
Qatar led Arab countries in The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009, a global index issued annually by the World Economic Forum. The ranking depend on several aspects such as institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market sophistication, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
Majority of Arabian Gulf countries moved up in the report; Qatar moved up from 31 to 26, Saudi Arabia moved up from 35 to 27, UAE moving up 6 positions and ranking 31. Kuwait dropped 5 spots and came 35, Bahrain up from 43 to 37 and Oman up from 42 to 38. Tunisia dropped 4 spots and ranked 36, while Jordan moved up one spot and ranked 48.
Arab countries in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009:
26. Qatar
27. Saudi Arabia
31. United Arab Emirates
35. Kuwait
36. Tunisia
37. Bahrain
38. Oman
48. Jordan
73. Morocco
78. Syria
81. Egypt
91. Libya
99. Algeria
131. Mauritania
Worldwide, USA maintained its leading ranking, followed Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Japan and Canada.
Top 20 countries in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009:
1. United States
2. Switzerland
3. Denmark
4. Sweden
5. Singapore
6. Finland
7. Germany
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Canada
11. Hong Kong SAR
12. United Kingdom
13. Korea, Rep
14. Austria
15. Norway
16. France
17. Taiwan, China
18. Australia
19. Belgium
20. Iceland
Download the full report.
