Optimism can be difficult to muster at a time of heightened uncertainty and global turmoil. The 2022 ASDA'A BCW Arab Youth Survey, conducted only a few months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, reflected a darkening economic outlook.
Rapidly rising commodity prices and supply-chain disruptions were fuelling inflation worldwide, and higher food prices were straining low-income households and undermining food security in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).
Not much has changed in the year since. Despite some easing since the end of 2022, price pressures remain stubbornly high; this year, inflation is expected to average about 15% in the Arab world.
