skip to main content
Poll of Nine Islamic Countries: Generation Gap in Attitudes Toward the West

Poll of Nine Islamic Countries: Generation Gap in Attitudes Toward the West

by David W. Moore

A Gallup poll of nine predominantly Islamic countries finds that young people in those countries tend to have a more favorable opinion of the United States than do older people. Younger people are also more likely than older people to associate Western nations with producing enjoyable films and music, and with treating their own citizens equally. But on several other items, there are few differences between young and older people, as both age groups tend to express negative views of Western nations.

The poll, conducted in December 2001 through January 2002, finds that in five of the countries, there are at least 10-point differences in the percentages of youth and older people who give favorable ratings to the U.S. (A favorable rating is a score of "4" or "5" on a five-point favorable scale.) In three of the countries, the differences are just 4 to 5 percentage points, while in one country, Pakistan, the youth are less favorable than older people by 2 percentage points.

As shown in the chart above, Lebanon's youth give the U.S. the highest rating, with 47% of people under age 30 saying they have a favorable opinion of the U.S, compared with 43% of youth in Turkey who are favorable, 29% in Jordan, 27% each in Indonesia and Morocco, 18% in Saudi Arabia, 16% in Iran, and only 4% in Pakistan.

The above chart also shows that the gap between the young (under age 30) and older (age 40 or older) categories is largest in Jordan, where the youth are more favorable toward the U.S. than older people by a margin of 15 percentage points (29% to 14% respectively). Other nations with an age difference of at least 10 percentage points include Kuwait (13 points), Lebanon (11 points), and Morocco (10 points). In Turkey, the youth are more favorable by just 5 percentage points, while in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the differences are just 4 percentage points each. In Pakistan, the country with the lowest overall rating of the U.S., older people actually give a slightly higher rating (6%) than young people (4%).

Attitudes Toward Western Films and Music

Respondents to the poll were asked to say whether a series of phrases could be associated with Western nations. The phrase that is most associated with Western nations is technologically advanced, with large majorities of young people in all nine countries making the association. There were little differences between young people and older people on this item, however.

In five of the countries, large majorities of young people also associate Western nations with producing enjoyable films and music, and in general, young people are more likely than older people to make the association. As shown in the following graph, the youth of Turkey (83%) and Lebanon (82%) are most likely to make the association. Majorities of the youth in Jordan (68%), Kuwait (64%) and Indonesia (58%) also express that view. A substantial minority of the young in Saudi Arabia (43%) take that position, compared with only a quarter of the young in Morocco (27%) and Pakistan (23%). Iranian youth (8%) are least likely to say that Western nations produce enjoyable films and music.

The above chart also shows the differences between the young and the older residents within each country. The largest age difference is found in Jordan, where 68% of young people, but only 33% of older people, say Western countries produce enjoyable films and music -- a difference of 35 percentage points. Differences between young and older residents that exceed 10 points are also found in Turkey (19 percentage points), Lebanon (17 points), Kuwait (19 points), and Morocco (12 points). Smaller differences are found in Indonesia (5 points), Saudi Arabia (9 points), and Pakistan (6 points). In Iran, the country with the lowest percentage of people saying that Western nations produce enjoyable music and films, the age difference is reversed, with older people a little more likely to make the association than younger people (by 4 percentage points).

Likelihood to Say Western Nations Treat Their Citizens Equally

Another item on which young people tend to express different opinions than older people is whether Western nations treat their own citizens equally. Large majorities of young people in Lebanon (78%), Morocco (65%), Turkey (65%) and Jordan (65%) believe Western nations do provide such equality. Substantial minorities of young people in Kuwait (46%) and Indonesia (43%) agree. However, in the remaining three countries, only a third or less of young people have that opinion: 34% in Pakistan, 29% in Iran, and 18% in Saudi Arabia.

The above chart also shows that the largest differences between young and older people are found in Morocco (12 percentage points), Indonesia (11 points), and Iran (10 points), with Turkey (9 points) and Jordan (9 points) close behind. A difference of 6 points is found in Kuwait, and differences of less than 2 percentage points are found in Lebanon, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

Agreement on Other Items Assessing Western Nations

Very few young people in each of the nine countries polled say several other items characterize Western nations:

  • Just three in 10 young people in Lebanon say Western nations treat their own minorities fairly, the highest percentage measured in the nine countries. The lowest percentage is 12% in Iran.
  • Less than a quarter of young people in each of the polled countries say Western nations care about poor nations (ranging from 6% in Morocco to 23% in Indonesia.
  • The percentage of young people who say Western nations are willing to share their technology with less-developed nations ranges from just 3% in Morocco to 40% in Indonesia. Second highest is Pakistan, where just 29% of young people take that view.
  • Only 2% of young people in Morocco say Western nations support Arab/Muslim causes, compared with a high of 13% who express that view in Indonesia.
  • Finally, only 1% of young people in both Kuwait and Morocco, and a maximum of 13% in Saudi Arabia, say Western nations are fair in their stances toward Arab/Muslim countries.

In all of these countries on the five items just discussed, there are only slight differences between young and older people.

Results from nine predominantly Islamic countries are based on in-person interviews conducted between December 2001 and January 2002, with the following sample sizes and margins of error:

Country

Overall
Sample Size

Margin of Error

Sample Size of Youth

Margin of Error

Pakistan

2,043

±2

808

±4

Iran

1,501

±3

626

±4

Indonesia

1,050

±3

405

±5

Turkey

1,019

±3

382

±5

Lebanon

1,050

±3

401

±5

Morocco

1,000

±3

454

±5

Kuwait

790

±4

293

±6

Jordan

797

±4

386

±5

Saudi Arabia

754

±4

321

±6

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/5482/Poll-Nine-Islamic-Countries-Generation-Gap-Attitudes-Toward-West.aspx
Gallup World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
+1 202.715.3030