From roots to relevance: Making Arabic the language of opportunity for MENA’s young people

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries/PwC Strategy&, September 25, 2026




The future of Arabic is the young people of the MENA region. They are the ultimate arbiters of Arabic’s role in their lives. They will determine Arabic’s relevance in the Digital Era.

This reality was a primary impetus behind the 2025 Ipsos/Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre Arab Youth Pulse Survey. The survey explores how Arabic relates to the creative aspirations and technological outlook of 4,092 respondents aged 18–25 across 10 MENA countries, alongside the economic challenges they face.

The survey found that Arabic is the dominant language across all aspects of young people’s lives in the region. It is particularly meaningful to MENA youth in social and cultural contexts. Arabic connects them to their families and friends: 91% of respondents use it at home and 85% of them use it with friends. Arabic also serves as a strong anchor to their cultural heritage: slightly more than three-quarters of the respondents (76%) said that Arabic connects them to their roots.

Arabic’s dominance also extends to education, work, online learning, and other digital contexts, but in these contexts, its usage among MENA youth is less prevalent than in social and cultural contexts. The survey respondents report that their use of Arabic falls off at school and work, as well as in digital activities. Correspondingly, their use of English increases significantly in these contexts, with slightly more than three-quarters of the respondents (77%) saying that English is essential for achieving their goals. In short, Arabic is not always the language of opportunity for MENA youth.

This linguistic dichotomy highlights the primary challenge facing Arabic in the Digital Era. The salient issue in this challenge is the gap in Arabic’s educational, professional, and digital utility. The future of the Arabic language depends on closing this utility gap and extending Arabic’s relevance among the 140 million people under age 30 in the MENA region. Read the rest here.