InequalityintheeyesofArabpeople

E/ESCWA/CL2.GPID/2024/Policybrief.6

Keymessages

PeopleintheArabregionare

increasinglydissatisfiedwiththeirstandardofliving.

AlmosthalfoftheArabpopulationaredissatisfiedwiththequalityofhealthandeducationservicesavailabletothem.

TheproportionofpeopleacrosstheArabregionwhoreportnot

havingenoughmoneytobuyfoodhassteadilyincreased,reaching38percentby2022.

Morethanonethirdofthe

surveyedpopulation(37percent)aredissatisfiedwiththeirstandardofliving.PeopleinLebanonwerethemostdissatisfied.

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Themanyfacesofinequality...................................

Inequalityismultifaceted.Themostwell-knownsourceofinequalityisincomeinequality.Butinequalitycan

manifestitselfinvariousotherdimensions,manyofwhichintersectandreinforceeachother.Economicinequality,genderinequality,youthinequality,andinequalitiesinaccesstohealth,education,social

protection,food,financeandtechnologyallthreatentoexcludevulnerablepopulationsfromwider

socioeconomicdevelopment.People’sperceptionsoftheirstandardoflivingprovidevaluableinsightsintotheseinequalities,highlightingsocietalissuesthatincomestatisticsalonecannotcapture.

ThispolicybriefusesGallupSurveydataonpeople’s

perceptionsoftheircurrentandfuturequalityoflifetobetterunderstandinequalityintheArabregion.

Perceptions:currentstandardofliving...................

AcrosstheArabregion,morepeoplearesatisfiedthan

dissatisfiedwiththeir

standardofliving.

Nevertheless,thegap

Dissatisfactionwith

standardoflivinghas

steadilyrisenfromalowof28%in2016to

betweensatisfiedanddissatisfiedpeople

isshrinking(figure1).

37%in2022steadilyrisenfromalow

Dissatisfactionwithstandardoflivinghas

of28percentin2016to37percentin2022(latestavailabledata).

Theincreaseindissatisfactionholdstrueregardless

ofageorgender(figure2).However,therearemarked

differencesbetweencountriesintheArabregion(figure

3).Onthewhole,peopleinhigh-incomecountriesreport

thehighestsatisfactionwiththeirstandardofliving,whilstpeopleinleastdevelopedcountries,orcountriesgoing

throughsomeformofcrisis,arethemostdissatisfied.PeoplelivinginKuwait(94percentsatisfied),

Figure1.Areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwithyourstandardofliving,allthethingsyoucanbuyanddo?

Proportionofrespondentssatis?ed/dissatis?ed(percentage)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2015

2017

2016

20182019

202020212022

Dissatis?ed

Satis?ed

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

3

SaudiArabia(87percentsatisfied),andtheUnitedArabEmirates(92percentsatisfied)reportedthehighest

levelsofsatisfactionwiththeirstandardoflivingin2022.

Lebanonhadthehighestdissatisfactionlevelin2022,with89percentofthepopulationdissatisfiedwiththeirstandardofliving.

Figure2.Areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwithyourstandardofliving,allthethingsyoucanbuyanddo?

Proportionofrespondentsdissatis?ed

40

(percentage)

30

20

10

0

Breakdownbyageandgender

Arabyoung

women

(aged15-29)

Arabyoungmen(aged15-29)

ArabregionArabwomenArabmenArabyoungpeople

(aged15-29)

20152022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Figure3.Areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwithyourstandardofliving,allthethingsyoucanbuyanddo?

100

90

Proportionofrespondentsdissastis?ed(percentage)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Breakdownbycountry,2022

Arabregion

Algeria

Comoros

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Stateof

Palestine

SaudiArabia

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates

Yemen

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

4

Perceptions:futurestandardofliving.....................

PeopleintheArabregionarealsobecomingmore

pessimisticabouttheirfuturestandardofliving.Althoughhalfoftheregionalpopulationbelievethattheirfuture

standardoflivingwillimprove,theproportionwhobelieveditwouldgetworseincreasedfrom28percentin2015to36percentin2022(figure4).

Theincreasingnegativityoverthefutureisreflectedacrossallagesandgenders(figure5),althougholderpeoplearemore

pessimisticthanyoungerpeople.Fortypercentofpeopleabove

30yearsoldbelievethattheirstandardoflivingisdeclining,comparedwith29percentofthoseagedbetween15and29.

Meanwhile,in2022,atleasthalfthepopulationofthe

Comoros(60percent),Jordan(50percent),Lebanon(89percent),andYemen(60percent)reportedthattheir

standardoflivingwasdeteriorating.InSaudiArabia(81percent)andtheUnitedArabEmirates(85percent),themajorityofthepopulationbelievedthattheirstandardoflivingwasgettingbetter(figure6).

Figure4.Rightnow,doyoufeelyourstandardoflivingisgettingbetterorgettingworse?

60

Proportionofrespondents(percentage)

50

40

30

20

10

0

20152016201720182019202020212022

BetterWorse

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Figure5.Rightnow,doyoufeelyourstandardoflivingisgettingbetterorgettingworse?

Proportionofrespondentsdissatis?ed

40

(percentage)

30

20

10

0

Breakdownbyageandgender

Arabyoung

women

(aged15-29)

Arabyoungmen(aged15-29)

ArabregionArabwomenArabmenArabyoungpeople

(aged15-29)

20152022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

5

Figure6.Rightnow,doyoufeelyourstandardoflivingisgettingbetterorgettingworse?

100

90

Proportionofrespondentsdissatis?ed(percentage)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Arabregion

Algeria

Comoros

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Stateof

Palestine

SaudiArabia

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates

Yemen

Breakdownbycountry,2022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Perceptions:health.................................................

Dissatisfactionwithqualityofhealthcarepeakedbetween2019and2021,yetin2022itstillremainedhigherthaninthe2015-18period(figure7).

In2022,48percentofpeopleintheArabregionweredissatisfiedwiththeavailabilityofqualityhealthcare.Youngwomen(agedbetween15and29)werethemostsatisfied(57percentin2022),whileoldermen(aged30andabove)werethemostdissatisfied(50percentin2022).

Again,thereweremarkeddifferencesbetweencountries,withpeopleinhigh-incomecountriesthemostsatisfied.In2022,peopleinKuwait(93percent),SaudiArabia(91percent)andtheUnitedArabEmirates(91percent)againreportedthehighestsatisfactionlevelswiththeirqualityofhealthcare.InfourArabcountries,over70percentof

respondentsweredissatisfiedwiththequalityofhealthcareavailabletothemin2022:theComoros(73percent),

Lebanon(72percent),Morocco(74percent)andTunisia(71percent)(figure8).

48%

ofpeopleintheArab

regionweredissatisfied

qualityhealthcare

withtheavailabilityof

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Figure7.Inthecityorareawhereyoulive,areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwiththeavailabilityofqualityhealthcare?

Proportionofrespondentssatis?ed/dissatis?ed

70

60

(percentage)

50

40

30

20

10

0

20152016201720182019202020212022

Dissatis?edSatis?ed

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Figure8.Inthecityorareawhereyoulive,areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwiththeavailabilityofqualityhealthcare?

80

70

Proportionofrespondentsdissastis?ed(percentage)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Breakdownbycountry,2022

Arabregion

Algeria

Comoros

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Stateof

Palestine

SaudiArabia

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates

Yemen

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

7

Perceptions:education............................................

Aswithhealth,dissatisfactionwiththeeducation

systemintheArabregionpeakedbetween2019and

2021,yetin2022itremainedhigherthaninthe2015-18period(figure9).

In2022,45percentofpeopleintheArabregionwere

dissatisfiedwiththeeducationsystemintheircountry.

Youngwomen(agedbetween15and29)wereagainthemost

satisfied(60percentsatisfied).Oldermen(aged30andabove)wereagaintheleastsatisfied(47percentdissatisfied).

PeopleinKuwait(94percent),SaudiArabia(87percent),andtheUAE(92percent)remainedthemostsatisfied

withthequalityofeducationavailabletothem.InTunisia,though,77percentofrespondentsreportedthattheyweredissatisfiedwiththeeducationsystem(figure10).

Figure9.Inthecityorareawhereyoulive,areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwiththeeducationalsystemortheschools?

Proportionofrespondentssatis?ed/dissatis?ed

60

50

40

(percentage)

30

20

10

0

20152016201720182019202020212022

Dissatis?edSatis?ed

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Figure10.Inthecityorareawhereyoulive,areyousatisfiedordissatisfiedwiththeeducationalsystemortheschools?

Proportionofrespondentsdissastis?ed(percentage)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Arabregion

Algeria

Comoros

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Stateof

Palestine

SaudiArabia

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates

Yemen

Breakdownbycountry,2022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

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Perceptions:food....................................................

TheproportionofpeopleacrosstheArabregionwho

reportednothavingenoughmoneytobuyfoodincreasedsteadilybetween2015and2022,reaching38percentby2022(figure11).

Thisincreaseinrespondentsreportingthattheyhad

notbeenabletoaffordfoodonatleastoneoccasionis

representedacrossallgendersandages,withyoungwomen(agedbetween15and29)beingtheleastaffectedin2022(33percent).Olderwomen(aged30+)werethemost

affected(44percent)(figure12).

Atthenationallevel,Algeria(17percent),Kuwait(10percent),SaudiArabia(14percent),andtheUnited

ArabEmirates(15percent)hadthelowestnumbersof

respondentsreportingthattheyhadnotbeenabletoaffordfoodin2022.Yetinallthesecountries,atleastonetenth

ofrespondentsnonethelessreportedthattheyhadbeen

unabletoaffordfoodinthepast12months.IntheComoros(63percent),Jordan(57percent),Mauritania(56percent),Morocco(50percent)andYemen(71percent),atleasthalfofrespondentsreportedthattheyhadbeenunabletoaffordfoodonatleastoneoccasionin2022(figure13).

Figure11.Havetherebeentimesinthepast12monthswhenyoudidnothaveenoughmoneytobuyfoodthatyouoryourfamilyneeded?

Proportionofrespondentsunabletoaffordfood

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

70

(percentage)

20152016201720182019202020212022

YesNo

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Figure12.Havetherebeentimesinthepast12monthswhenyoudidnothaveenoughmoneytobuyfoodthatyouoryourfamilyneeded?

Proportionofrespondentsunable

toaffordfood(percentage)

40

30

20

10

0

Breakdownbyageandgender

Arabyoung

women

(aged15-29)

Arabyoungmen(aged15-29)

ArabregionArabwomenArabmenArabyoungpeople

(aged15-29)

20152022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

9

Figure13.Havetherebeentimesinthepast12monthswhenyoudidnothaveenoughmoneytobuyfoodthatyouoryourfamilyneeded?

80

Proportionofrespondentsunabletoaffordfood(percentage)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Arabregion

Algeria

Comoros

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Stateof

Palestine

SaudiArabia

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates

Yemen

Breakdownbycountry,2022

Source:GallupWorldPolldata.

Causeforhope.........................................................

Despitetheseoverwhelminglynegativeandoften

deterioratingperceptions,thereiscauseforhope.

Although

pessimismis

increasing,peopleintheArabregionaremorelikelytohavehopeforthefuturethannot

Althoughpessimismisincreasing,peopleintheArabregionaremorelikelytohavehopeforthefuturethannot.Youngpeoplearemarginallymoreoptimisticthanthepopulationasawhole,andyoungwomenparticularlyso.Peoplein

theArabregionalsotendtohaveamoreoptimisticviewoftheiroverallstandardofliving,thanoftheprovisionofbasicnecessitiessuchashealth,educationandfood.Thisperhapsdemonstratesadesiretobeoptimistic,

whichpolicymakerscanbuildonintheireffortstocreateinclusivesocieties.

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Policyrecommendations.........................................

1.Promoteinclusivegrowth.Inclusivegrowthisnottheonlydriverof

people’sperceptionsoftheirstandardofliving,butitisfrequentlya

fundamentalone.Ensuringthateconomicgrowthbenefitsallsegmentsofsocietywillsupportageneralincreaseinthepopulation’sperceivedstandardofliving,socialcohesionandsustainablesocioeconomic

development.Inclusivegrowthcanbeachievedthroughsupportingsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs),enhancinglabourrights,and

ensuringequalopportunitiesforwomen,youngpeopleandminorities.

2.Adoptprogressivetaxpoliciesandensurethatrevenuesareredistributedwithafocusonincomeequality.

PeopleintheComoros,LebanonandYemenareamongtheleastsatisfiedwiththeirstandardofliving.Theyarealsocountrieswithsomeofthehighestincomeandwealthinequalities,combinedwithhighpoverty

rates.Progressiveincomeandcorporatetaxation,whichisfunneledintoredistributionforthemostvulnerablegroups,wouldgoalong