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Youth Population & Employment in the Middle East & North Africa
PRESENTATION BY FARZANEH ROUDI OF THE POPULATION RERERENCE BUREAU
July 2011
Un
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Median Age in MENA Countries, 2010
17
18
18
21
21
24
25
26
26
26
26
27
28
28
29
29
29
30
30
32
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Yemen
Palestine
Iraq
Jordan
Syria
Egypt
Oman
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Algeria
Morocco
Iran
Kuwait
Turkey
Tunisia
Lebanon
WORLD
Bahrain
UAE
Qatar
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Youth Population Growth in MENA
44.6
88.192.7
1980 2010 2040
Ages 15 to 24, in million
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MENA’s Population Age Distribution
0%10%20%
30%40%50%60%70%
80%90%
100%
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
65+
25-64
15-24
<15
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Youth as % of Working-Age Population, 2010
17
19
20
22
26
26
27
27
27
27
30
30
31
31
31
35
37
37
39
42
0 10 20 30 40 50
Qatar
Bahrain
UAE
Kuwait
Turkey
Lebanon
Saudi Arabia
Libya
Tunisia
WORLD
Morocco
Algeria
Iran
Egypt
Oman
Syria
Iraq
Jordan
Palestinian Territory
Yemen
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MENA’s Youth Bulge:
A Demographic Opportunity or Challenge?
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Unemployment Is a Youth Phenomenon
In Jordan in 2007, three-quarters of the unemployed were below age 30.
In Egypt in 2006, well over 80 percent of the unemployed were below age 30, and 82 percent of the unemployed had never worked before.
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School-to-Work Transition in Tunisia
30% of university graduates find employment in 6 to 12 months from their graduation.
39% and 24% are still unemployed 18 months and 3 years after their graduation, respectively.
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2009 National Youth Survey in Egypt
70% of the unemployed said that they were jobless because there was simply no work available.
More than 40% thought personal connections were more important than personal skills in securing a job.
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Education Has Improved
Between 1980 and 2000, on average, MENA countries spent 5 percent of their GDP on education—higher than any other developing region.
School enrollments have increased remarkably at all levels of education—for girls in particular.
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Countries Grouped by % of Their 15-to-24-Year-Old-Females Who Are Literate
65% to 84 % 85% to 94% 95+%
Egypt
Iraq
Morocco
Yemen
Turkey
Syria
Algeria
Bahrain
Libya
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Palestinian Ter.
Qatar
Oman
UAE
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
The data are for years from 2005 to 2008.
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Countries Grouped by Ratio of Number of Females to 100 Males Enrolled in Secondary School
<90 90 to 99 100+
Turkey (89)
Morocco (86)
Saudi Arabia (85)
Iraq (67)
Yemen (49)
Iran
Syria
Oman
Egypt
Qatar
Libya
Lebanon
Algeria
Tunisia
Palestinian Ter.
Bahrain
Jordan
Kuwait
UAE
The data are for years from 2005 to 2008
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Countries Grouped by Ratio of Number of Females to 100 Males Enrolled in Tertiary School
75> 75 to 90 100+
Iraq (59)
Yemen (42)
Egypt
Morocco
Turkey
Algeria
Bahrain
Iran
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Palestinian Ter.
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
UAE
The data are for years from 2005 to 2008. No country falls between 90 and 99. No data available for Syria.
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Youth Unemployment Is The Highest in MENA
Percent of labor force ages 15 to 24 in 2009
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Youth Labor Force Participation Is The Lowest in MENA
Percent of youth ages 15 to 24 in 2009
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Youth Unemployment Rates by Sex
43
1720
23 23
1
24
13
31
25
8
46 48
34
46
19
7
4649
2925
22
Male Female
Percent of labor force ages 15 to 24
Data refer to 2009, except for Algeria and Tunisia, which are for 2004.
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Unemployment Rates by Sex and Education
Country
Percent of labor force ages 15 - 64 Male
Female
Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary Algeria 2004 65 21 7 33 30 33 Bahrain 2009 28 37 22 22 39 33 Iran 2004 52 30 13 18 45 36 Kuwait 2004 30 32 7 7 51 19 Morocco 2004 57 22 16 37 25 32 Saudi Arabia 2009 39 52 8 4 32 65 Tunisia 2004 45 37 6 37 34 14 Turkey 2009 60 24 9 33 39 24 UAE 2004 30 32 14 10 45 40
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
© 2010 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www.prb.org
Percent Change in the Number of Youth, 2010-2040
107
87
80
30
22
14
10
10
7
4
3
-24-27
-20
-16
-13
-13
-10
-41
-50 0 50 100 150
Iraq
Yemen
Palestinian Territory
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Egypt
Jordan
Bahrain
Libya
Qatar
Turkey
UAE
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Oman
Lebanon
Iran