UAE most desirable country to live in for 10th year, Arab Youth Survey finds

UAE named most desirable country to live in for a 10th year, though fewer young Arabs want to emigrate

Palestinian youths practise parkour skills on Gaza Beach during sunset, on February 12. Those aged 18 to 24 in Gaza and the West Bank were polled for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Sameh Rahmi / NurPhoto

A woman adjusts her headscarf as she sits with her dog at a cafe in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Khobar. About 82 per cent of young Saudi Arabian citizens are optimistic about their future. Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP

Emiratis gather around an open fire at the Liwa desert. The UAE was named the most desirable country to live in for the 10th consecutive year by young Arabs polled for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Karim Sahib / AFP

Palestinian protesters carry an injured youth amid clashes with Israeli security forces in the village of Beita, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on May 28. Despite this, 41 per cent of young Palestinians polled in the Arab Youth Survey were optimistic about their future. Photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP

Young Moroccans in the capital Rabat. About 70 per cent of those questioned said Covid-19 harmed their education, the survey said. Photo: Fadel Senna / AFP

Two young rappers in the Tunis metro. More than three quarters of young Tunisians surveyed said they were confident that their voice mattered to their country's leadership. The survey was conducted in July. Photo: Emeric Fohlen / NurPhoto

Young Iraqis chat as they gather to perform stunts on motorbikes and scooters in the Jadriya district of Baghdad. About 42 per cent of young Iraqis say religion is central to their identity. Photo: Ahmad Al Rubaye / AFP

Young women enjoy fresh air and sun near the Amman citadel and Roman amphitheatre In Amman, Jordan. About 71 per cent of young Jordanians said they believed their voice mattered to their country's leadership. Photo: Hristo Vladev / NurPhoto

Egyptian fans gather at a sports cafe to watch a football match. Egypt is regarded as the region's strongest ally by young Arabs. Photo: Ibrahim Ezzat / AFP

A group of young Algerians in a popular neighbourhood of the capital Algiers. The influence of the US is felt by 61 per cent of young Arabs polled in the 2021 survey. Photo: Ryad Kramdi / AFP

Young Omani women walk on a hiking trail in the village of Misfat Al Abriyeen. Only 13 per cent of young Omanis say they would consider emigrating. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub / AFP

Students line up to receive their certificates during the Visual Graduation Ceremony 2021 of Bahrain Bayan School in Sakhir. About half of young Bahrainis said they felt the pandemic affected their educational. Photo: Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters

Young Sudanese women walk in the Otash camp for internally displaced people near Nyala town, the capital of South Darfur. Two thirds of young Sudanese people said they want to live in the UAE. Photo: Ashraf Shazly / AFP

Libyan youths gather at a cliff by the Mediterranean Sea in the capital Tripoli. Young Libyans were polled in Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi for the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Mahmud Turkia / AFP

Ghenwa, 20, a trainee flight attendant, Souna, 25, a business manager, Karam, 23, a DJ, and Ali, 24, an IT student, go bowling in Damascus, Syria. More than two thirds of young Syrians believe their best days are ahead of them, up from 12 per cent in 2020. Photo: Yamam Al Shaar / Reuters

Iraqi graduates sit in a tent as they protest against a lack of jobs in Baghdad. About one third of young Iraqis say they have considered emigrating. Photo: Teba Sadiq / Reuters

Omani youths play football on the beach at sunset in the capital Muscat. More than 90 per cent of young Omanis believe their voice matters to their country's leadership. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub / AFP

A Kuwaiti rides a skateboard, on a warm day near the beachfront, in the capital Kuwait City. More than 80 per cent of young Kuwaitis believe Covid-19 has affected their education. Photo: Yasser Al Zayyat / AFP

About 97 per cent of young Syrians believe the Covid-19 pandemic affected their educational experience, according to the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Alamy

Two young men on the terrace of a kasbah in Morocco. Almost 80 per cent of young Moroccans said they believed their best days were ahead. Photo: Alamy

About 71 per cent of young Tunisians said their institutions needed reform, according to the 2021 Arab Youth Survey. Photo: Alamy

Volunteers of the anti-sexual harassment organisation, Harassmap, during a street awareness campaign in Cairo. About 65 per cent of young Egyptians said they would want to live in the UAE. Photo: Alamy

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The UAE has been named as the nation young Arabs would most like to live in and have their own country emulate, for the tenth consecutive year.

Almost half of 3,400 young Arabs polled across the Middle East and North Africa for this year's ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey listed the UAE as the most desirable place to live — significantly outranking the remaining four countries that made up the top five.

At least 47 per cent of respondents, aged 18 to 24, said they would want to live in the Emirates, while 19 per cent chose the US. Fifteen per cent selected Canada, while France (13 per cent) and Germany (11 per cent) completed the top five.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, celebrated the findings and said “the UAE is everyone's country and everyone's home. Our experience will remain available to all and our relations will remain positive with everyone".

Afshin Molavi, author and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC, said the UAE's lead was all the more striking “given that no other Arab country made the top five of aspirational places to live".

He described the Emirates as a “lodestar for aspiring middle classes and educated professionals".

“Young people around the world want better governance, less corruption, opportunities for education and employment, and secure and healthy environments,” he said.

“Every region also needs intense competition, and a leader of the pack. The UAE has clearly raised the bar across the region, as it has emerged as a global economic hub for trade, transport, tourism and, increasingly, technology.”

The country whose people were most keen to live in the UAE was Sudan. Sixty-six per cent of respondents there chose the Emirates over any other nation to live in. Next was Egypt, at 65 per cent. More than half of Iraqis, Saudi Arabians, Algerians and Lebanese people surveyed also chose the UAE.

Almost half (46 per cent) of the young people polled said they would like their country to emulate the Emirates — far more than the number of people who thought their home countries should work towards being more like the US (28 per cent). Canada, Germany and France completed the top five with between 11 and 12 per cent each.

A growing economy and wide range of work opportunities were chosen as the top two things young Arabs most associated with the UAE, with safety and a “clean and enjoyable environment” also ranking highly among respondents.

Despite the regional attraction of the UAE among young people, fewer said they considered emigration than in last year's survey.

A third of those polled said they had considered or wanted to emigrate, compared to 42 per cent in 2020.

The decrease in interest was across the board — in the GCC, North Africa and Levant, where desire to emigrate dropped from 63 per cent in 2020 to less than half (42 per cent) this year.

Young Sudanese citizens were the most likely to emigrate, with 68 per cent considering or actively trying to leave their country. Moroccans were the second most likely, with 56 per cent of respondents expressing interest in emigrating while Lebanon, Jordan and Syria rounded out the top five with 48 per cent, 47 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.

Young people living in the GCC were least likely to want to leave their home country, with only 3 per cent of young Emiratis expressing an interest in leaving the Emirates.

Top 5 countries young Arabs want to emigrate to

Asked where they would want to emigrate to, Canada was the top pick for young Arabs, with 18 per cent. The US was a close second, with 17 per cent, and Germany third, with 15 per cent. The UAE was the only Arab country to make the top five, with 14 per cent, while 13 per cent of respondents said they would want to emigrate to France.

“These findings suggest that the UAE has established a strong and durable brand among Arab youth, which suggests that its social model of diversity and tolerance has a good chance of influencing the social and cultural development of other Arab societies over time,” said Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute and columnist for The National.

Economic reasons were the main motivation for emigration for more than a quarter of those surveyed. Educational opportunities also emerged as a key driver, with 17 per cent. A lack of personal freedom only motivated 8 per cent of respondents to consider emigration.

Mr Ibish said the fall in desire for emigration, despite the challenges and instability in some countries in the region, was a “pleasant surprise".

“The stereotype, particularly in the West, is of a region beset by turmoil and economic malaise, with Arab youth clamouring to leave their countries. But the survey points in a very different direction,” he said.

While some young people are still either considering or trying to leave, at least 44 per cent said they would “never” consider leaving their country.

“That’s a strong vote of confidence for a region typically assumed to be drifting between malaise and disasters,” said Mr Ibish.

Researchers conducted 3,400 face-to-face interviews in 50 cities and territories in 17 Arab states across the Middle East and North Africa in June 2021. The sample was split evenly between men and women aged 18 to 24.