Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. While challenges vary significantly across the region, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, young people tend to express low trust in public institutions, and nearly four in ten live in fragile and conflicted-affected areas. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to place the needs of young people at the centre of an inclusive and resilient recovery.

The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the structural challenges young people across the MENA region face in their transition to an autonomous life. Youth employment declined by 7.5% in 2020, access to education was disrupted for 110 million pupils and students, and – as in other regions – spaces for young people to form social connections and skills were no longer accessible due to lockdown and confinement measures. In a context of already low levels of trust in government among young people, the implications of the crisis may undermine not only young people’s future aspirations and opportunities, but also societal and economic progress across the region more broadly.

Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. Their successful participation in economic, social and public life will improve personal well-being, inclusive growth and social cohesion. However, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing challenges for young people across the region and global and regional trends such as climate change, digitalisation and migratory pressures raise new questions about the opportunities available for young people and future generations.

At least seven governments in the MENA region have adopted national youth strategies to promote a joint vision, coordinated approach and policy coherence in support of young people. This chapter benchmarks the arrangements in place against the eight principles of good governance set out in the OECD Assessment Framework of National Youth Strategies. It finds that, while national youth strategies are more widespread than in the past, their impact has often been limited due to challenges in involving young people in their design and implementation, as well as a lack of administrative capacities, resources, and monitoring and evaluation systems.

This chapter analyses the formal organisation of youth affairs across governments in the Middle East and North Africa with a focus on the administrative and technical capacities within the ministries responsible for youth affairs. It finds that limited institutional and administrative capacities of these entities present a key challenge for more integrated and inclusive measures targeting young people. It also points to co-ordination challenges between different ministries and with non-governmental stakeholders. To support efforts to mainstream young people’s perspectives and needs across all policy areas, the chapter presents practices from selected OECD and MENA governments in the collection and use of age-disaggregated data and the application of public management tools in rulemaking and public budgeting.

Across the MENA region, young people’s trust in government is low. This chapter finds that the participation of young people in the policy cycle and their representation in state institutions are limited, with people under 40 years of age representing only 16% of members of parliament on average. At the same time, young people demonstrate agency by participating in the public debate through non-institutionalised channels and contributing to community life, via civil society organisations and through volunteering activities, both online and offline. This chapter provides an assessment of the legal, institutional and other governance barriers for young people to participate and access positions of public and political influence across the MENA region.