The Middle East has experienced violence, instability, and conflict since the 1990s. Due to the rivalry between states in the region, youth life has been disturbed, threatening the region’s future. However, only some countries in the Middle East have realized this issue and have tried to work towards protecting the youth’s future. Since over half (55%) of the population in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is under 30 years old, the youth can influence government policy and encourage peace in the region to have a thriving future for themselves. Therefore, the youth can impact the region’s economic policies and security dynamics.
This article will cover why the region is unsuitable for the new youth and how the contemporary generation of youth will shape the Middle East’s future.
CURRENT SITUATION
The Middle East and North Africa/Arab States Region has the highest youth unemployment rates globally, although children and young people comprise about half of the population. The job market and employment are changing, but the current educational institutions and curricula must keep up. Due to this, the region is not able to reach its potential. Moreover, as the region is dominated by religious teaching focusing on memorization rather than practical technological knowledge, it is not preparing the youth for the future world where AI will be revolutionary. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects, including the disruption of schools, have exacerbated the education crisis and extended already-existing disparities.
The region also needs more in the private sector; since the region is oil-producing and government-owned, there is no need for private-sector investments. As a result, the government is also one of the highest recruiters in various sectors, as it is state-owned. Nearly one-third of all employment in Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria is in the government sector. More importantly, the private sector does not have enough freedom due to strict laws, making it difficult for them to operate in the region. Many Middle Eastern countries have rules and regulations governing hiring and discharging employees, which deters firms from recruiting new workers while the economy is booming, for fear of having to retain those individuals when things turn around. This results in the private sector needing to be able to pay high salaries to their employees, which demotivates the youth to join the private sector; instead, they wait for government job openings. Government employment generally pays 20 percent less than private sector employment; however, in the Middle East, it pays 30 percent more on average. Due to the absence of the private sector, there is also no high demand for high-level skills jobs, even though youth have gained higher education from foreign universities. Consequently, university-educated youth experience higher unemployment rates than their less educated counterparts in several Middle Eastern nations, such as Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, while low-skill occupations account for most job openings. In Morocco, Egypt, and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza, informal employment is thought to account for up to 77 percent of the overall workforce.
The family also accepts that their youth will be unemployed while they wait for government jobs, and during this unemployment period, the family finances their young ones. Moreover, as many Middle Eastern countries provide subsidies to their citizens, this provides them with a comfortable life, which does not encourage them to gain employment. They thus undergo what has been referred to as “prolonged adolescence,” which prevents them from being financially and socially independent and delays their ability to move out and get married until their 20s or 30s.
However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have faced economic issues, and future climate goals threaten the region’s most significant source of income, oil. The International Monetary Fund reports that several of the region’s countries, including Egypt, Iraq, and Tunisia, are facing a slow economic recovery from the pandemic. Aside from this, the region also has environmental concerns like a lack of water and food insecurity, which have worsened since the Russia-Ukraine war.
Nevertheless, as the region has enormous potential due to its rising youth, they have an opportunity to make things right to reach their potential. According to the World Bank, Middle Eastern and North African countries must generate more than 300 million new jobs by 2050 to fill the gaps left by people who are already unemployed and will soon be looking for work. There are roughly twice as many jobs in this country now. If the region is willing to utilize this, the youth can improve their status and lead their governments to change their current course, resulting in internal conflict.
HOW CAN YOUTH CREATE AN IMPACT IN THE REGION?
The youth will have an impact in different domains. Firstly, in the political domain, the region’s youth have come far ahead after their experiences with the Arab Spring (2011), which deteriorated the situation in the region as a few countries fell into civil war. The second wave of protests was also unable to engage with political institutions and implement reforms in the region. Therefore, after the Arab upheavals of 2011, academics proposed the concept of “apolitical activism” to explain how MENA (Middle East and North Africa) youth engaged in non-traditional political arenas, emphasizing community-based and development-oriented activity. Conversely, the Arab Barometer polls have all confirmed the MENA youth’s overwhelming desire to move in search of better chances. However, since Europe and the West have professed to implement strict regulations for accepting immigrants, the youth will be unable to migrate. As a result, the youth will engage in community-oriented political activism, which would create a political impact in the region over time.
According to a recent survey, ensuring civil and political rights, growing the economy and lowering unemployment, advancing education and advancing technology, ending wars and promoting peace and stability, respecting women’s rights, and sponsoring or supporting culture and the arts are among the Arab youth’s top priorities. This shows how youth are aware of the issues and looking forward to a change in the region. This would be a challenge for the regimes in the region; however, the region should reform itself, or we may witness massive protests.
Economically, the youth can significantly impact the region with proper skills aligned with the job market. According to the research, broad-based investments in future skills might enhance global economic productivity by $8.3 trillion by 2030. Therefore, initiatives to close the skills gap and give students marketable skills and abilities are essential for maintaining the Middle East’s economic development in the long run. Due to corruption in the region, things are slowly changing, and youth are looking forward to private jobs or being self-employed. In the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, released in January 2022, the MENA area received a global score of 39 out of 100, with 100 being the least corrupt.
Therefore, in a survey for youth, 29 percent of respondents say that the government’s primary goal should be to combat “wasta” (whom you know) (a practice in Arab society where people use their personal relationships to gain favor) and nepotism to increase job creation, while 24 percent advocate for school reform, and the same number also want improved employment opportunity information. For the governments in the region, it will be challenging to invest in vocational training and education in collaboration with international organizations while balancing their relationship with their conservative religious leaders. Aside from technical training, the youth will also need to learn about finance and money management, which would help the youth in the long term, as currently, specifically in the Gulf, the youth are facing a challenging issue with rising debts.
Lastly, the youth can also have a geopolitical impact on the region. The current youth in the region are witnessing a multipolar world order, and more importantly, the youth no longer believe in the radical ideology, as the radical ideology has only deteriorated the region’s situation, resulting in unemployment and violence. The U.S. is admired for many reasons among Arab youth, but they also disapprove of its overzealous participation in the area. Only Egypt, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates have more than 50 percent support for normalizing relations with Israel, and the remainder of the Arab nations have far less support. The youth perceive the West and East from the same angle. Eventually, this would lead the youth to shape the region following its strategic interests, solving its internal conflict. For example, the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal can be seen as an example of the strategic autonomy of the region in a multipolar world.
HOW ARE SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN DEALING WITH THE RISING YOUTH CHALLENGE?
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have differed on various issues for decades now. Both nations have competed against each other for dominance in the region. In dealing with youth as well, both nations have stark differences. Saudi Arabia has decided to harness the energy of its youth to combat the dangerous and reactionary Islamist countercurrent that formerly restricted opportunity and social life in the country, in contrast to Iran, which employs and empowers backward, reactionary, anti-Western Islamist and police forces to crush the aspirations of its young people in the name of Islam. This might be due to the background of both countries, as Saudi Arabia has been a close ally to the United States; Saudi youth went to the U.S. or other Western nations to study for higher education, whereas Iran has been anti-West since its 1979 revolution, due to which its youth never went to the West, where they could experience freedom and demand the same in their home country when they return. A suitable example of the difference between both nations’ approaches is that a two-day Iranian music festival was held at the Royal Commission for AlUla, a Saudi Arabian city in the Medina region. Iranian musicians, never allowed to play in public in their home country, sang in front of Saudis and Iranians from the diaspora. Due to their different approaches, both nations will also have opposing results. In Saudi Arabia, the openness and freedom given to youth can attract foreign investments; meanwhile, in Iran, the youth may flee their nation or be lured toward extremism. One hundred fifteen thousand young people in Saudi Arabia have received hospitality training to compete in the nation’s emerging tourism sector; these investments in infrastructure, tourism, and industry will be the main drivers for employment creation for young people. However, Iran’s investment in its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, as well as its ongoing regional conflicts, will only serve to alienate further and disenfranchise its young people and isolate the nation from the rest of the world.
CONCLUSION
In the heart of the Middle East, a new generation is rising, carrying the hope of a transformed and progressive region. This part of the world has grappled with its share of historical conflicts, economic struggles, and political unrest. The landscape is marred by high levels of youth unemployment, education systems falling short, and a private sector needing help finding footing. The recent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the looming specter of climate change have only added more complexity to an already delicate situation. Nevertheless, within this complexity lies an opportunity that cannot be ignored—the potential of the youth.
This vibrant and energetic demographic is making its impact felt across various spheres. They are reshaping their political aspirations, engaging in community-driven activism, and demanding civil rights, economic growth, and gender equality. These evolving priorities are nudging the established regimes towards adaptation or potentially facing significant protests. Economically, given the right tools and opportunities, the youth possess the power to drive substantial economic growth. Investing in their skills and tackling corruption while nurturing private sector expansion makes a path to prosperity tangible.
On the geopolitical stage, the youth are redefining their worldview, shedding radical ideologies for more balanced perspectives. Positive change becomes possible as the world order becomes multipolar and the desire for strategic independence grows. Nations like Saudi Arabia are embracing this transformation by empowering their youth, creating openness, and, in the process, attracting foreign investments and diversifying their economies. In contrast, countries stifling aspirations, such as Iran, risk alienating their youth and isolating themselves further.
For the Middle East to thrive, it must tap into the energy and potential of its youth. Governments must prioritize education reform, job creation, transparency, and accountability. A brighter future awaits by embracing innovation, forward-thinking policies, and genuine engagement. If the Middle East seizes this chance and empowers its youth, a more harmonious and prosperous region could emerge, where cooperation replaces conflict and growth overcomes adversity. The youth, armed with their ideas and determination, are the agents of this transformation. They have the power to lead the Middle East into a new era of progress, turning challenges into stepping stones toward a better future.
