Survey: 82% of Arab Youth Value Stability over Democracy

Rabat – Around 82% of young people in Arab countries aged 18 to 24 said in a recent survey that they think political stability is more important than democracy.

Conducted by the MENA-focused communication firm Asda’aBCW, the survey shows that the large majority of young people in the Arab world put strikingly less emphasis on democracy than they did about a decade ago.

This past year’s survey results radically contrast with the findings of Asda’aBCW’s survey in 2009.

Prior to the events of the Arab Spring, more than 90% of surveyed Arab youth had told the communication firm that “living in a democratic country” was their single most important priority.

A decade after the Arab Spring, however, not only have over 80% of the surveyed Arab youth told Asda’aBCW that they prioritize stability over democracy, but almost two-thirds of them also stressed that they no longer believe democracy can ever work in Arab countries.

Comparing the data from the 2022 survey to previous surveys conducted between 2018 and 2021, the inescapable conclusion seems to be that young people’s belief in the feasibility of introducing democracy into Arab countries has declined significantly over the past four years.

In 2018, only 47% of respondents said they don’t believe democracy is a viable option for Arab states. But this portion rose to 53% in the following year, stagnated over the following two years, and reached 64% in 2022, the Asda’aBCW report shows.

This year’s Asda’aBCW survey also looked into Arab youths’ stance on identity issues, revealing that, on average, more than half of young people in the region want to preserve their cultural identity. In Morocco, the average stands at 58%.

Assessing the level of financial independence in Arab countries, the survey results indicate that 53% of the surveyed youth from Morocco receive regular financial support from their parents, 37% said they neither receive nor give financial support to parents, and 11% said they provide regular financial support to their families.

Regarding Arab youth’s economic aspirations, the survey shows that they have little faith in their potential to thrive under the state of their countries’ economy, with almost half of respondents saying they are currently contemplating or are in the process of planning to emigrate.

The rate of young people who believe that their aspirations for a better future can only be realized abroad is even higher in North Africa, where 58% of the surveyed youth said they are considering emigrating.