95% of young Emirati women have completed secondary education or higher
18% increase in life evaluations for women with higher levels of education
Eighty-seven percent of Bahraini nationals (the highest percentage in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries surveyed) are satisfied with their local education system, according to the latest Abu Dhabi Gallup Center report unveiled at Zayed University.
The research reveals that despite relatively high public satisfaction with the education sector, education outcomes lag behind other high-income countries, with GCC students testing in the bottom third of all students around the world in math and science. Public demand for education is increasing, however, with attainment levels rising sharply across the GCC for men and women. Ninety-seven percent of 15- to 29-year-old national men in Qatar have completed secondary education or higher, and GCC women are as likely as women in high-income countries to have a tertiary education, with Qatar leading the way (26%).
Key Findings From “Progress and Tradition in the Gulf Cooperation Council States”
Education
- Education outcomes in the GCC lag behind high-income countries.
- GCC women are as likely as women in high-income countries to have education to college level and higher, with Qatar leading the way (26%).
- 94% of Bahraini women believe women can hold any job they are qualified for – the highest percentage in the GCC.
- 95% of young Emirati women have completed secondary education or higher.
- More women across the GCC are receiving education and to a higher level.
Life Evaluation
Median GCC life evaluations (classified as “thriving”) are on par with the median (43%) for high-income countries.
- United Arab Emirates: 63%
- Qatar: 56%
- Kuwait: 44%
- Saudi Arabia: 43%
- Bahrain: 27%
Income is related to men’s life evaluations in the GCC, but not women’s life evaluations.
- 18% increase in life evaluations for women with higher levels of education, whereas there is no increase for men with higher levels of education.
Religion
- GCC nationals consider faith central to their lives, a view that the young and old share across the GCC.
- Women in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait are slightly more likely than men to say faith is involved in all aspects of life.
- 96% of nationals in Qatar feel respected when practicing their religion in public.
- Less than half of GCC nationals say they would not object to having a person of another faith move next door. This is in contrast to other countries in the region, such as Egypt and Lebanon, where majorities would welcome interfaith neighbors.
Family
- Family is an essential component in the GCC.
- Employed women in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are more likely to work in a professional job than employed men, with women in Saudi Arabia (28%) three times as likely as their male counterparts (9%) to have professional careers.
- Four is the ideal number of children for GCC nationals vs. 2.4 in high-income countries.
- Highly educated Saudi women are the most likely in the GCC to say they have three or more children in their households.
- Qatar (59%) and United Arab Emirates (52%) lead GCC countries in charitable donations and are more likely to donate than the median for high-income countries (47%).
