The 2010 ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey was commissioned by ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller to focus on attitudes among Arab national and expatriate youth aged 18-24 in 10 Middle East countries: the six Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and, for the first time, Iraq.

The research was designed to uncover country differences and common trends, looking at issues including: attitudes to democracy, access to technology, media consumption trends, social media networking, and attitudes towards education and employment.

Associate company Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 2,000 face-to-face interviews among respondents between December 27, 2010-January 20, 2011.

The respondents were selected to provide an accurate reflection of each country’s demographic, geographic, and socio-economic mix. The 2,000 respondents included 250 young people from the UAE, 200 each from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar; and 150 from Iraq. The entire sample was weighted to include 20 per cent of respondents from the AB socio-economic group; 35 per cent from C1 and 45 per cent from C2. The gender split of the survey was 60:40 male to female.

All those taking part were young Arabs, and were either citizens of each country, or a mix of nationals and expatriates according to the demographic mix in each market surveyed. This meant that respondents in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman were all nationals; in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, respondents were 75 per cent nationals and 25 per cent expatriates; and in Qatar and the UAE, there was a 50:50 split between both groups. The geographic location of respondents was also taken into account by PSB when developing the fieldwork methodology – with 40 per cent of Saudi Arabian respondents living in Jeddah, another 40 per cent in Riyadh, and 20 per cent based in Dammam, for example.

In the same way, UAE respondents were drawn from three of the country’s emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah; Kuwait’s youth from four distinct regions: Kuwait City, Al Hawalli, Al Ahmadi, and Al Farwaniya; Lebanese youth from East and West Beirut, and from Tripoli; and so on across each country.

When analysed, this geographic spread provides a more accurate national picture than findings based solely on the responses of those living in capital cities.

Following unrest in the Middle East in January 2011, PSB conducted an additional 500 interviews in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq. These interviews were conducted among Arab national youth aged 18-24. This fieldwork was conducted between February 26-March 5, 2011, in capital cities.

All comparative data related to the survey update compares only findings from the five relevant countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq) during the December 2010-January 2011 and February-March 2011 periods.