GCC's youth bursting with potential

Youth in the GCC are today’s greatest catalyst for change. They are our governments’ most underutilized asset, the future-shapers and movers. Yet they continue to face great challenges in a rapidly changing environment.

GCC nations have been undergoing major economic and legislative reform as they move to diversify their oil-based economies. For instance, the UAE has announced its post-oil strategy, while Saudi Arabia unveiled Saudi Vision 2030, both being ambitious plans to move away from oil dependency toward a knowledge-based economy.

The Gulf as a whole is witnessing an interesting shift in demographics, translated in its “youth bulge.” As an age group, young people have been at the center of many GCC governments lately, and rightly so. Around 60 percent of citizens are under the age of 30 (in Saudi Arabia, almost two-thirds of the population are considered youth). It is predicted that the GCC’s youth population will reach 65 million by 2030.

The GCC’s youth are more educated, more connected and more mobile than ever before. Based on a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the adoption of social media in the Gulf is amongst the highest in the world. The UAE’s youth, for example, spend an average of 9.9 hours a day on social and other media — more than they sleep. Moreover, in global active Twitter use in 2015, Saudi Arabia and the UAE ranked fourth and seventh respectively. GCC smartphone penetration is also amongst the highest in the world, reaching 78 percent in the UAE. The youth are technologically advanced, very ambitious and a little too eager. They are also increasingly engaged in civic and community issues.

Against this backdrop, today’s youth not only face challenges, but will continue to face unique problems within the next few decades. The first challenge relates to the imminent dwindling of oil resources and its impact on the economy and employment. According to the World Economic Forum, youth unemployment is already more than twice as high as overall unemployment rates. It is 11 percent in the UAE, 20 percent in Oman and highest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at 27 percent. The rate is even higher for women.

The issues pertaining to unemployment — including the skills mismatch, lack of diversification, rigid environment for entrepreneurship and SMEs, poor preparation for the future sectors, reluctance to take on certain jobs, as well as the social constraints against women entering the workforce — will require a prolonged period of time before we reap the benefits of the policy changes being undertaken today.

It is imperative that we ensure the youth’s input, values, feedback and engagement are translated into concrete, realistic and measurable policies.

Asma I. Abdulmalik

As a result of the current demographical trends, such as delayed marriages, higher divorce rates and declining fertility rates, one of the major concerns for the youth will be the burden they have to carry with regards to their local pension systems. According to PwC, by 2050, elderly nationals will make up 20 percent of the GCC population, compared to only 2 percent in 2016. The challenge will be to find long-term, sustainable ways to resolve the pensions issue and tackle the health concerns of an aging population.

Demographic changes, globalization, direct access to global information, modernization, and population growth have transformed the concept of identity for the youth. Identity was often associated with religion, nationality, tribe and language. Today, an individual may relate more to someone in Manchester because they share the same personal values. People are beginning to form linkages around the world and identifying themselves as, for example, vegetarian, liberal, feminist and so on. Furthermore, many are using English to communicate with their peers daily, despite their strong belief in Arabic’s importance to religion and nationality.

The youth will also face major challenges in the high cost of living, insufficient affordable housing, a competitive global education system and being a minority in their own countries. They could also feel the impact of climate change as citizens of food-importing nations that are susceptible to spikes in food commodity prices.

They may also continue to get frustrated with exclusion and cultural barriers. Young women in particular will continue to break the glass ceiling as they grapple with the roles, responsibilities and traditions shaped and mandated by society in child-rearing, education and their access to employment and capital.

All these challenges present governments with challenges and opportunities. So what does all this mean and why does it matter now? The picture I am trying to paint is not at all bleak, rather bursting with potential, should we take advantage of it correctly.

For starters, goals and policies need to reflect reality, not the assumptions people have of the youth. It is counter-productive to not accept the impact of demographics, globalization and connectivity socially and culturally, and attempt to bring us back to the “good old days.” It is imperative that we ensure the youth’s input, values, feedback and engagement are translated into concrete, realistic and measurable policies. Also, goals and strategies targeting the youth must support economic empowerment and job creation and transform them into productive workers. Finally, more action is needed to extend the rights of women, because women will certainly not wait and will carve their own paths regardless.

It matters more today, because the youth bulge will not last for long before it finds equilibrium.