Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the region's youth can achieve their dreams in the UAE after the country was named the most attractive place to live by young Arabs for the 12th consecutive year.
Respondents said the Emirates was the place they most wanted to call home in the Arab Youth Survey, released on Tuesday.
They hailed the country for its high levels of safety and security, its growing economy, clean environment, ease of doing business and effective leadership.
The findings were based on face-to-face interviews with 3,600 people aged 18 to 24 across 18 different countries.
“For the twelfth year in a row, a survey of Arab youth in 53 cities from 18 Arab countries reveals that most of the Arab youth consider the UAE as their preferred country to live and work, followed by the United States and Canada,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
“They also view it as the most successful model they wish their countries to emulate.
“We continuously convey our unwavering message to Arab youth: The UAE is an Arab country. It extends its hand to all Arabs, and its land will remain open to fulfil the aspirations of Arab youth.
“Ultimately, we envision the entire region to become a place again where dreams can be realised and civilisation can be built.”
The survey authors said the UAE provided a platform for young people to harness their talent, making it an attractive proposition.
“The UAE continues to be a lodestar for Arab youth seeking jobs, opportunity and the freedom to realise their full potential,” said Sunil John, founder of Asda'a BCW, the PR agency that conducts the annual survey.
“The uncertainty elsewhere in the global economy only serves to underline the nation’s winning attributes and the sound vision of its leadership.”
Almost one in four young Arabs (24 per cent) named the UAE as their top choice for where they would most like to live.
It was followed by the US (19 per cent), Canada (19 per cent), Qatar (14 per cent) and the UK (13 per cent).
Arab Youth Survey 2023 – in pictures
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Nirmeen Hazineh, a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, at the Shatila camp for refugees in Beirut. Young people in the camps say they dream of leaving the struggling country where their families took refuge generations ago. AFP -
Iraqi Sarah Nael inspects creations by Rafedin, a sewing project set up by Italians to help Iraqi refugee women in Jordan. AFP -
People enjoy a free concert to celebrate the wedding of Jordan's Crown Prince at Amman International Stadium last month. AFP -
Young men swim in the Shatt Al Arab waterway, formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra in May. AFP -
Protesters attacking a local bank in Beirut, Lebanon, last week, amid anger over a deepening economic crisis and hardship in the country. NurPhoto -
Members of Tunisian dance group Urban Dance perform during Carthage Choreographer Days in Tunis. EPA -
A young man sells roast sweet potato from a cart outside the walls of old Cairo in the historic district of Gamaliya. AFP
