Saudi youth support reforms, believe Vision 2030 will secure strong economy: Survey
As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepares to celebrate its 92nd National Day on
September 23 under the theme ‘This is Our Home,’ almost all Saudi
youths said they believe the Kingdom is heading in the right direction
as they voiced optimism about the future and the best days that lie
ahead.
This was one of the main findings of the 14th Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey released on Wednesday.
The
survey, which was commissioned to IDS Research & Consultancy,
carried out face-to-face interviews with 3,400 Arab citizens, equally
split between men and women, aged 18 to 24 in 50 cities across 17 Arab
countries from May 13 to June 16, 2022.
According to the survey,
nearly all the young Saudis, 99 percent, said they are confident that
the Saudi Vision 2030 will secure a strong economy for the country. 97
percent said the “country was going in the right direction,” while the
same percentage said “their best days lie ahead of them.”
Nine out of ten noted that they believe they will have a better life than their parents.
On
being heard by the country’s leadership, 98 percent of Saudi youths
said “their voice matters to the [Kingdom’s] leadership,” and that “the
government has the right policies to address their concerns, such as the
quality of education, job creation and economic growth.”
A preference for private sector jobs
Young Saudis seem enthusiastic about the government’s recent reforms to the private sector as 96 percent of those surveyed voiced their support of measures which encourage more involvement of the private sector in the economy.
Support for women entering workforce
On women’s contribution to the workforce, 61 percent said women and men have equal work opportunities, while 96 percent said that women entering the workforce “will positively impact the country.”
US, France, and UK seen as strong allies
Almost all Saudi youths polled said they believe their country’s strongest allies are the US, France and the UK and that they think Saudi Arabia “has the most influence in Arab world affairs, followed by the US, the UAE, Russia, and the UK.”
The social media generation
According
to the survey, young Saudis are heavy social media users. The most
popular platforms among them are Whatsapp (98 percent), Snapchat (84
percent), YouTube (83 percent), Twitter (73 percent), TikTok (60
percent) and Facebook (55 percent).
43 percent of the Saudi
youths polled said they rely on social media as the most important
source of news while 27 percent rely on TV and 23 percent rely on news
outlets.
Commenting on this year’s results, Sunil John,
President, MENA, BCW and Founder of ASDA’A BCW, said: “This year’s
findings show a generation of young Arab men and women seeking to chart a
new course from the divisions of the past.”
“Encouragingly, the
results of our study in Saudi Arabia suggest that national youth, both
men and women, are fully on board with the country’s reform agenda and
enthusiastic about their future,” John added.
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