Filter content by

Latest Updates

New survey reveals drop-off in religiosity across Arab world, especially North Africa

The Arab world has become less religious in the last five years, with North Africa, in particular, seeing a steep decline, according to a new social attitudes survey released by BBC Arabic. The survey, conducted between October 2018 and April 2019 in collaboration with the Arab Barometer research project, interviewing 25,000 people across the region, showed a wide range in…

Erdoğan most popular world leader among Arab youth

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the most popular world leader for Arab youths, according to the results of a recent poll. Carried out by the Arab Barometer research network for BBC News Arabic, the survey polled the opinions of 25,000 youths across the Arab world on a wide variety of subjects.

Arabs are losing their religion in backlash against Islamists

A large number of Arabs have abandoned religious belief in the past six years, according to a poll demonstrating that the political turmoil and war have had clear social effects. The loss of faith, albeit from a high level before, was particularly marked in the young. Researchers from the Arab Barometer asked the residents of ten countries and the Palestinian…

Most Arab men would accept a woman as their country’s leader

Most Arabs would accept a woman as their nation’s leader but still believe men should have the final say in domestic matters, a major new study suggests. The research was carried out by the research network, Arab Barometer, between late 2018 and the spring of 2019. The places surveyed were Iraq, Tunisia, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Libya,…

Middle East survey sees patchy progress in views on women’s and LGBT+ rights

LONDON, June 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – More men than women in Iraq say they have been sexually harassed, while only 6% of Lebanese people think being gay is acceptable, according to a major survey of public opinion in the Middle East published on Monday. The wide-ranging study, conducted by researchers at Princeton University, found although support for women’s rights and for…

Survey Shows Faith in Decline in Morocco, in the Arab World

Rabat – While studies suggest Islam is the fastest growing religion on the planet, a recent survey released by the BBC Arabic showed religion has declined throughout the Arab world. Currently 18% identify as “not religious”, compared to 11% in 2013. The report, conducted for the BBC by the research group Arab Barometer, was the largest and most in-depth survey undertaken of the Middle…

More than half of young Arabs want to emigrate

  LONDON: More than half the young people in much of the Arab world would like to leave their home countries, a survey conducted by BBC Arabic has found. That number has jumped by more than 10 percent for those aged 18-29 since 2016, according to the Big BBC News Arabic Survey 2018/19, conducted with the Arab Barometer research group….

Lebanon’s atheists rejecting their religion

In Lebanon, the sectarian identity you inherit from your father is written on the civil registry. From birth people are defined by their religion and atheism or ‘no religion’ are not included in 18 options available. A survey for BBC News Arabic by Arab Barometer suggests that people across the region are growing less religious….