AMMAN — A
recently published survey by
Arab Barometer on migration in the MENA region has
revealed that nearly half of Jordanians, at 48 percent, want to leave the
Kingdom. The lowest percentage was recorded in Egypt, at 13 percent.
اضافة اعلان
An analysis of the survey results shows that
the desire to emigrate is high across MENA. Levels are highest in Jordan,
Sudan, and Tunisia, where nearly half of the population expressed the desire to
leave. In other parts of the region, around a third say they consider
emigrating: Lebanon (38 percent), Iraq (35 percent), and Morocco (34 percent).
Furthermore, a quarter in Palestine and a fifth in Libya share the same
sentiment. Notably, the only two countries where less than a fifth of the population
say they consider emigrating are Mauritania (18 percent) and Egypt (13
percent).
The above are among the main findings of 10
nationally representative public opinion surveys conducted across the
MENA region from 2021 to 2022 as part of Arab Barometer Wave VII. The results were
based on nearly 23,000 interviews across the region; they have a margin of
error of approximately 2 percent in each country. Overall, these results make
clear that for people across MENA migration remains an open option, especially
for the younger, better educated generations, mainly to escape economic
hardships.
Those who want to emigrate are more likely
to be male, young, well-educated segments of the population. Youth across the
region are significantly more likely to say they consider leaving their
countries compared to their older counterparts.
At least half of the people wanting to
emigrate across the region say they want to leave their country because of the
economic conditions. The percentage is highest in Egypt (97 percent) and Jordan
(93 percent), where virtually all potential migrants say it is for economic
reasons.
Other reasons mentioned by minorities across
the region include security factors, political reasons, and educational
opportunities.
The survey results make clear that youth in
the region are significantly more interested in emigration than their older
compatriots. In all surveyed countries, youths aged 18–29 said they wanted to
emigrate by a margin of at least six points compared to those 30 or older. In
Tunisia and Jordan, nearly two thirds (65 percent and 63 percent, respectively)
of youth say they are considering emigrating, compared to slightly more than a
third of older Tunisians (37 percent) and older Jordanians (39 percent).
Canada is the preferred destination for roughly three-in-ten potential migrants in Jordan and Lebanon.
Additionally, men across the region are
significantly more likely to want to emigrate compared to women. At least half
of men in Jordan (56 percent), Tunisia (52 percent), and Sudan (50 percent) say
they want to leave their countries.
Canada is the preferred destination for
roughly three-in-ten potential migrants in Jordan (30 percent) and Lebanon (29
percent), and a fifth in
Morocco (21 percent) and Libya (20 percent). The
UAE is the preferred destination for 15 percent of potential migrants in Lebanon
and 13 percent in Jordan, while 16 percent in
Lebanon, 14 percent in
Mauritania, and one-in-ten in Jordan prefer Qatar.
In no country is there a majority choosing
one state as a preferred destination. Several factors contribute to people’s
preferences. These include historical trends of migration, language, proximity,
and perceived opportunities.
While Jordanians, Lebanese, and Mauritanians
prefer a move to North America, Egyptians and Sudanese prefer a Gulf country.
North Africans tend to choose France or other European country as their
preferred destinations.
While a third of Jordanians (35 percent) and
Mauritanians (33 percent) wanting to leave their country choose the US as their
preferred destination, less than 10 percent share this preference among
potential migrants in Egypt (8 percent), Tunisia (4 percent), and Iraq where
virtually no one wants to emigrate to the US.
There are significant differences by
education levels when it comes to migration. Those with college degrees or
higher are significantly more likely to consider emigrating, compared to those
with lower levels of educational attainment. This reality shows the real risk
of brain drain in the region. Among the college educated, more than half in
Sudan (60 percent), Jordan (56 percent), and Tunisia (56 percent) say they want
to leave their countries, compared to their less-educated compatriots (34
percent, 43 percent, and 42 percent, respectively).
The Arab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network
that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and
values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world. It has been conducting
nationally representative public opinion surveys on probability samples of the
adult populations across the Arab world since 2006.
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