RIYADH: For the fifth consecutive year, Arab youth consider Saudi Arabia to their country’s biggest ally, highlighting their continued trust in the Kingdom as regional tensions peak, according to the findings of the 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey.
When asked to think about their country’s biggest ally, Arab youth cite Saudi Arabia (31 percent), followed by the UAE (28 percent), and the US (25 percent).
The Kingdom is viewed particularly strongly by youth in the other Gulf states, where 93 percent consider it an ally.
Young Arabs in the Levant and Yemen have the least favorable view of the kingdom, with only 45 percent viewing it as an ally.
Overall, 70 percent of young Arabs see Saudi Arabia as an ally.
Commenting on the survey findings, Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “The ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey provides a unique insight into the hearts and minds of the region’s largest demographic – its 200 million youth. This year’s survey reveals once again that young people are acutely aware of the changing political realities in the region.”
The CEO said: “Saudi Arabia has long been a powerful player in the region, and young people throughout the Arab world recognize the key role the Kingdom plays in trying to ensure stability and security not just within its own borders but throughout the Middle East and North Africa.”
The UAE is also seen favorably by the majority of Arab youth, with 72 percent viewing it as an ally and 28 percent saying it is their top ally.
Again, support for the UAE is particularly high in the neighboring Gulf states, where 93 percent of youth see it as an ally.
Arab youth are increasingly polarized in their views of the US.
While two-thirds (63 percent) of young Arabs view the country as an ally, a third of youth see the country as an enemy, especially in Iraq (93 percent), Yemen (82 percent) and Palestine (81 percent).
A small majority of Arab youth (52 percent) view regional rival Iran as an enemy, although, 38 percent of young Arabs see it as an ally and, for the first time, a small number (13 percent) see Iran as their country’s biggest ally in the region.
International polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted from January 11 to February 22, 2016.
In-depth results from the 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, including survey highlights and a white paper in Arabic and English, are available on arabyouthsurvey.com.
Support for Kingdom highest among youth in the Gulf states
