The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa

The report highlights a significant gap between educational attainment and employment in the MENA region, where youth unemployment stands at 31% and women's workforce participation remains low. It warns that a high percentage of work activities in the region are susceptible to automation, with up to 52% in Qatar. To address these challenges, the World Economic Forum proposes public-private collaborations, including the New Vision for Arab Employment and Gender Parity Task Forces, to align curricula with future needs and increase female economic participation.

• The MENA region captures only 62% of its full human capital potential, which is lower than the global average of 65%. This varies by country, with high-income Gulf states like Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE ranging from 68% to 73%, while fragile states like Yemen and Mauritania score below 50%.
• Youth unemployment in the MENA region is 31%, and university graduates represent nearly 30% of the total unemployed pool, indicating a failure to capitalize on education investments.
• There are wide gender gaps in workforce participation across the region, ranging from just over 40% in Kuwait and Qatar to nearly 80% in Algeria and Jordan.
• A significant portion of work activities in MENA countries are susceptible to automation: 41% in Kuwait, 46% in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, 47% in the UAE, 49% in Egypt, 50% in Morocco and Turkey, and 52% in Qatar.
• The region's tertiary educated talent pool is projected to expand by 50% by 2030. However, the talent pool is less diversified than in other regions, with nearly a third of tertiary-educated members on LinkedIn holding degrees in Business, Administration and Law.
• Public sector employment is oversaturated and creates disincentives for young nationals to enter the private sector. Public sector jobs account for 42% of non-agricultural formal sector employment for citizens in Jordan, 70% in Egypt, and approximately 80% in the UAE.
• The transition to an ecologically sustainable economic model could create millions of jobs. In the UAE, the energy efficiency sector is expected to be the largest generator of new jobs, projected to create over 65,000 by 2030.
• Online talent platforms could significantly increase GDP and employment by 2025, potentially adding 945,000 full-time equivalent jobs and US$21bn to Egypt's GDP, 799,000 jobs and US$41bn to Turkey's, and 276,000 jobs and US$32bn to Saudi Arabia's.
• There is a sizeable skills mismatch in the region, with nearly 40% of employers stating that skills gaps are a major impediment to business growth.

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_MENA.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa. 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_MENA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa |date=May 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_MENA.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017future, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_MENA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }