The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs 2011 summarizes the perspectives, hopes, and fears of youth across the Arab World and illuminates their perspectives on the job climate, economic environment, and market competitiveness in their respective countries.

Summary:

This fourth installment of The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs charts Arab League members’ progress from 2009 to 2010 toward creating a better climate for job creation and entrepreneurship. The findings, based on surveys conducted twice each year with more than 16,000 country nationals aged 15 to 29, reveal strengths and challenges across the region and within countries. Although the data were collected before periods of civil unrest in late 2010 and early 2011 across several countries, the recommendations in this report are perhaps now even more important for those seeking to implement meaningful initiatives to foster job creation and entrepreneurship.

Silatech Index Rankings

The Silatech Indexes are based on three fundamental pillars: mindset, access, and Policy. The mindset
Index measures young people’s views of the job climate, obstacles to employment, and their societies’ investment in young citizens. The access Index gauges young people’s attitudes about their countries’ current economic and business environment. The Policy Index measures young people’s views on market competitiveness and their perceptions of how well societies are maximizing human capital.

Many countries saw changes in their index scores from 2009 to 2010. Some, such as Bahrain, gained ground on the Access Index but lost ground on the Policy Index. Others, such as Sudan, fell behind on the Access and Policy Indexes. A few, however, showed positive momentum in all three dimensions. These differences underscore why policymakers need to closely examine strengths and challenges at the regional, national, and local levels.

Key Regional Results

- Young arabs gained more access to information technology and communication.

- Young people’s views of their communities — as places to live and the local economic situations — show signs of positive momentum.

- Young people’s satisfaction with the availability of affordable housing in their communities declined sharply.

High-Income Countries

- More Believe Their Leaders Harness Young People’s Talents

- Less-Friendly Climate for Entrepreneurs

Middle Income Countries

- Young People Are More Connected

- Less Willing to Do Home-Based Work

Low-Income Countries

- Improving Confidence in the Judiciary

- Greater Obstacles to Business Creation