Dubai, UAE- For many years, the UAE has been a destination for professionals seeking high salaries and generous benefits, such as housing and education allowances for their children, healthcare, and travel tickets, making it a popular choice for those seeking a high and stable life.
In this backdrop, young Arabs living in the country unanimously agreed that the UAE is the ideal place for them to live and work, citing its benefits, diversity of opportunities, and flexibility in legislation and laws that allow all nationalities to live in harmony and harmony, as well as the depth of the cohesion that brings together the leadership and its citizens and residents, and their personal follow-up to the various developments.
According to ASDA’A BCW’s 14th survey of Arab youth, the UAE is the best place to live, evidence of its progress until it has become a distinguished destination due to the job and training opportunities it provides, in addition to the availability of a high-quality educational system from world-class schools and universities, and the easy procedures to start and practice businesses, embrace expatriates, and ease of obtaining residency.
They stated that the country is known for being an incubator for youth, and that its initiatives and projects aimed at young people receive the support and care of wise leadership, emphasizing that successful nations rise by investing in young people and their abilities and capabilities, as well as providing them with appropriate opportunities.
The UAE’s attractiveness is felt throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, with (51 percent) of North African youth choosing it over the United States (24 percent).
The UAE was also the top choice for youth in Middle Eastern countries (57 percent), followed by Canada (31 percent), and the top choice for GCC nationals (63 percent), followed by the US (19 percent).
The UAE has also remained the country that most Arab youths want their governments to emulate for the eleventh year. Moreover, the UAE outperformed the United States (22 percent), Canada (18 percent), Germany (14 percent), France (11 percent), and Turkey (11 percent) as the model country for 27 percent of Arab youth in general.
Arab youth are attracted by the thriving economy
According to the survey, the top five attractions in the UAE are its growing economy (27 percent), secure environment (26 percent), rewarding salary packages (22 percent), a wide range of job opportunities (22 percent), and the country’s wise leadership (17 percent).
Other draws to the UAE include its respect for the region’s cultural traditions, the quality of its education system, the ease with which new businesses can be established, and low taxes.
The UAE’s growing popularity is the best evidence of its wise leadership’s success, which succeeded in hosting and organizing the best Expo in the event’s history – despite all the global turmoil left by the Covid-19 pandemic – and is currently preparing to host the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in July and November 2023.
Emirati youth support long-term government plans
According to the survey, most Emiratis support the government’s approach to sustainable development. More than nine out of ten (94 percent) agreed with recent government amendments on extending residency periods for expatriates and introducing new laws to make them easier to obtain.
In comparison, 84 percent supported the decision to allow foreigners to own 100 percent of companies in the country. In addition, 83 percent supported the soon-to-be-implemented corporate tax, and nine in ten (87 percent) supported the Monday-Friday work week. Furthermore, more than half (54 percent) agree that an unmarried man and woman have the right to live together.
Optimism about the future
Most Arab youth, particularly Emirati, are optimistic about the future. With 91 percent believing that the coming days will be better and 100 percent believe that their country’s economy is on the right track. Approximately half (48 percent) of Emirati nationals said finding work in their country was easy.
Although they undoubtedly have many advantages over the rest of their Arab counterparts, the Emiratis are not blind to the region’s general challenges. The region’s biggest challenge, according to 45 percent of them, is rising living costs, unemployment (27 percent), and climate change (18 percent).
Religion and nationality are critical components of Emirati youth identity
A third of Emiratis (33 percent) said religion and nationality were the essential elements in expressing their identity, compared to 41 percent of Arab youth.
Similarly to their Arab peers across the region, most Emirati youth (75 percent) believe that preserving the Arab world’s religious and cultural identity is more important than creating a more globalized society.
However, while 55 percent of Arab youth, in general, believe that Arabic is less important to them than their parents, half of the Emirati youth believe the opposite.
Perhaps Emirati youth’s apparent conservatism is matched by their almost total acceptance of gender equality. Almost nine out of ten Emirati nationals (89 percent) believe men and women have equal rights, and 84 percent believe both parties have equal employment opportunities.