![]() ![]() Supplies have been reduced, and prices are expected to rise on bread and other wheat-based staple foods.Īll these problems have contributed to varying degrees of lack of public confidence in the economies in the region. More than one-third of Egyptians’ diets are based on wheat, but 85% of Egypt’s wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine. The crisis in Ukraine threatens food supplies. There are other environmental concerns, such as pollution, agriculture land scarcity and poor public infrastructure, which hinder sustainable economic growth. Several countries across the region – including Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen – have less water than their populations need. In addition to internal conflict, the International Monetary Fund reports that several of the region’s countries – including Egypt, Iraq and Tunisia – are facing a slow economic recovery from the pandemic, inflation in the costs of basic commodities such as energy and food, and financial and debt obligations needed to stabilize the economy. The region faces other obstacles that make it even harder for governments to tackle youth unemployment. This causes them to experience what has been called “ prolonged adolescence,” in which they are unable to develop financial and social independence, such as moving out and getting married, until their 20s or even their 30s. During this time, they rely on financial support from their families. This means people will often just wait for a public sector job instead of taking available private sector jobs.Įven those young people who manage to get jobs say they often are searching for several years before landing work. In most countries, government jobs pay about 20% less than private industry, but in the Middle East, government jobs pay about 30% more on average. In Egypt, government work accounts for 70% of nonagricultural jobs. In Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, government jobs are almost one-third of all employment. In many countries, the government is the one of the largest employers. Education and training programs don’t always line up with the jobs that are available. Other rules discriminate against young women seeking work. In many Middle Eastern nations, regulations and laws about hiring and firing workers discourage employers from creating new jobs when times are good, for fear they’ll have to keep those people employed when times get worse again. Local and international governments and organizations have tried for years to create more opportunities for young people, but with little success. The struggle of high youth unemployment in the region is not a new challenge. Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP via Getty Images Economic struggles Karrar Alaa, a 20-something Iraqi, could not find work, so he started his own small traveling coffee business in Basra. This number is almost twice as many jobs as are currently in the U.S. The World Bank estimates that to provide employment for those currently out of a job and those who will soon be seeking work, Middle Eastern and North African nations need to create more than 300 million new jobs by 2050. Thirteen countries in the region have a youth unemployment rate of at least 20%, with the rate above 50% in Libya, above 40% in Jordan and Palestine, and above 30% in Algeria and Tunisia. The region’s young workers – those from ages 15 to 24 – already struggle with the highest unemployment rates in the world, averaging 25%. Its people now number over 450 million, up from 300 million in 2001. In addition, the region’s population is growing at a much faster rate than the global average – and has been since the World Bank began keeping records in 1961. Since the pro-democracy protests and uprisings of the Arab Spring in 2010, the region has experienced some sort of significant conflict in eight of its 21 countries: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
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