Muslims' views on religion do not impede views about relations
December 7, 2011
Countries in Africa rank highest on Gallup's inaugural Muslim-West Perceptions Index, which measures how positively people in majority-Muslim and Western countries view relations between these two societies. Countries in the Arab Gulf are not far behind.
Residents of Qatar and Oman are the most optimistic about their economies of 16 countries Gallup surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa in early 2011. Residents of Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, the Palestinian Territories, and Bahrain are among the least optimistic.
Worldwide desire to migrate abated between 2007 and 2010, but Gallup finds 14% of the world's adults -- or about 630 million people -- would still like to migrate to another country if they had the chance.
Preference for large families highlights Gulf region's need for job growth
May 24, 2011
Nationals in five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries rate their lives more positively than residents in other Arab states. They also put the ideal number of children in a family at about four, on average, highlighting the ongoing need for job growth to accommodate the region's large youth population.
Majorities in 19 out of 124 countries "thriving," mostly in Europe and the Americas
April 19, 2011
Gallup's global wellbeing surveys from 2010 reveal that a median of 21% across 124 countries were "thriving" last year, based on how people rated their lives at the current time and in the next five years. The percentage who were thriving ranged from a high of 72% in Denmark to a low of 1% in Chad.
Last fall, 41% of respondents said they had trouble affording shelter in the past year
March 31, 2011
As anti-government protests continue in Bahrain, recent surveys reveal the country's housing shortage is among the public's most pressing economic concerns. In October 2010, 41% of adults surveyed in Bahrain said there were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to pay for adequate shelter.
At the Obama administration's halfway mark, approval of U.S. leadership worldwide is still higher than during the Bush administration's last years. Across 116 countries, median approval of U.S. leadership in 2010 stood at 47% -- relatively unchanged from the 49% median across 111 countries in 2009.
Many young Arabs less likely to say leaders harness their talents
February 9, 2011
Young people in several Arab countries became less likely in 2010 to believe their leadership fully uses their human capital. Young Egyptians' perceptions experienced one of the largest declines: fewer than 3 in 10 say Egypt's leadership maximizes youth potential, down from almost 4 in 10 in 2009.
Adults in sub-Saharan Africa and former Soviet countries struggle most
December 23, 2010
At a time of year when thoughts often turn to those less fortunate, Gallup finds the struggle to afford adequate housing disproportionately affects residents in sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union.
Those planning to start a business in the next 12 months more likely to be employed
November 17, 2010
Young people in the Arab League are nearly four times as likely as those in North America or Europe to plan to start businesses in the next year, according to 2010 findings from The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs.
