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SAUDI ARABIA REPORT 2021
May 30, 2021
How do Saudi youth see their future? How young Saudis see their future plays a key role in defining the identity of the kingdom – and the region – in the coming years, writes Sunil John, drawing on research from Asda’a BCW’s Arab Youth Survey
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audi Arabia is at the heart of some of the most exciting futuristic developments in the world today. Giga ventures such as Neom and The Red Sea Project, among others, reflect the grand ambition of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to build a new era of opportunity and progress. Sustainable, scaleable, innovative and high-tech, these transformational projects aim to create new opportunities for young Saudis. With more than 17 million young people below the age of 25 and nearly two-thirds of the population below 30, it is not surprising that the kingdom’s new development framework has upended conventional norms. Young Saudis see the monumental changes across the kingdom with optimism. They trust the vision of their leadership to address one of the biggest concerns among youth across the Middle East and North Africa region: the challenge of rising youth unemployment. This was highlighted by the 12th edition of our annual Asda’a BCW Arab Youth Survey in 2020. As the region’s largest and most cited research project on the Middle East’s largest demographic – its more than 200 million youth – the
survey has consistently mapped the hopes, attitudes and aspirations of young people in 17 Arab nations, including in Saudi Arabia, since its launch in 2008.
Confident of the future In the latest survey, a majority of young Saudis – over 70 per cent – said they are confident they will lead a better life than their parents did. Very few, 11 per cent, said they expect to have a worse life than their parents, with the rest expecting a quality of life similar to what they have now. This is despite the many challenges the kingdom has faced in recent times, including low oil prices. More pertinently, this positive sentiment recognises the confidence of young Saudis in government programmes such as Saudi Vision 2030. Our survey identified that a remarkable 91 per cent of Saudi youth expect the strategic roadmap of the government to secure the future of the economy. Saudi Vision 2030 would not have gained such support if the country’s youth felt they were not being prepared for the jobs that the strategy of economic diversification and investment in
