Region’s young people see UAE as the most desirable place to live
For the seventh straight year, young Arabs have given the UAE the thumbs-up as the most desirable place to live.
This year’s Arab Youth Survey, of 3,500 people across the Middle East, put the UAE at the top, followed by the US and Canada, tied for second. Then came Japan and Germany.
“Clearly, they see the UAE as a land of opportunity,” said Sunil John, chief executive of the public relations agency Asda’a Burson-Marsteller in Dubai, which conducted the survey, which is now in its 10th year.
“It is a great credit to the UAE and its policies that it has emerged even more strongly as the country that most Arabs want to live in. That is compared with most modern western societies and countries in the region as well.”
The UAE also remains the country that young Arabs most want their own country to emulate, followed by the US and Canada tied again in second place, Japan in third and Germany in fourth place, the survey shows.
And as in previous years, safety, security and career opportunities are most widely associated with the country.
Vijay Gandhi, the regional director at Korn Ferry Hay, said the UAE had made great strides in improving its education and healthcare services over the past decade, which has contributed to its status as the most desirable place to live worldwide among young Arabs.
And announcements such as the recent bonus of one month’s salary for government workers sends a signal to the rest of the world that the UAE cares about the well-being of its residents, Mr Gandhi said.
“From an engagement perspective, they ensure that the wider community is engaged,” he said. This he said, was the reason why the UAE did not suffer an Arab rising while so many other states did, “because of the enablement and engagement of the leaders”.
The survey identified priorities that are key to moving the region in the right direction, including the top concern – to defeat terrorist organisations, which was No1 for 34 per cent of young people.
Creation of new, well-paying jobs topped the list for 30 per cent of respondents.
“When we started this youth unemployment was 25 per cent. It is still 25 per cent. It hasn’t changed at all,” Mr John said.
“You have 5 million people coming into the job market every year.
“What are we doing about it? The stark answer is nothing has happened. So jobs are the priority.”
Modernising the education system was highlighted as a priority for 29 per cent of respondents – a real concern given that 50 per cent of children in the Arab region did not attend school last year because of conflict, Mr John said.
“It’s going to get even more serious. So I think the answer for all of the ills of the region is education, education, education. Nothing else,” he said.