Arabic continues to anchor the identity of young people across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), but when it comes to education, careers and technology, English is increasingly taking the lead, a new report found.
For the UAE, where Arabic-speaking nationals and expatriates from diverse linguistic backgrounds study and work alongside one another. The findings then highlight a challenge — how to preserve the language’s cultural importance while making it more relevant to the opportunities shaping young people’s futures.
The report, From Roots to Relevance: Making Arabic the Language of Opportunity for MENA’s Young People, was released by the 2026 Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries (Congress ACI), in collaboration with Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network, and Ipsos.
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It found that 91 per cent of young people that participated in the survey use Arabic at home, but this falls to 64 per cent at work, university or school, and 60 per cent in online learning. English usage, meanwhile, rises from seven per cent at home to 33 per cent in educational and workplace settings and 36 per cent in online learning.
Overall, 77 per cent said English was essential to achieving their goals, highlighting the gap between Arabic’s cultural significance and its practical role in young people’s lives.
For Yasmin Al Khatib, the distinction is reflected in how languages are used in everyday life and professional settings.
“Arabic is important because we live in the Middle East, and it is the language of the region. It helps people communicate and understand one another while keeping us connected to our traditions and culture,” she said.
However, she believes English plays a more prominent role in business, particularly in the Gulf, where people from different countries need a common language to communicate and exchange ideas.
“The GCC is home to people from many different countries, and we need a common language to communicate, exchange ideas and do business. We cannot exclude people who do not speak Arabic, so English becomes more important in that context,” she said.
Al Khatib, who learned Arabic at home and English at school, also reflected on the importance of formal Arabic education, saying, “I wish I had learned the language at school to better understand its grammar and learn to read and write its script.”
Young people want Arabic to keep pace with modern life
The findings suggest that young people are not turning away from Arabic. Instead, they want the language to evolve alongside their ambitions and the changing world around them.
Nearly three-quarters, 74 per cent, want Arabic to develop to better reflect how they learn, create and work. While 76 per cent said the language connects them to their roots, 70 per cent expressed concern about losing traditions and values, and 66 per cent worried about declining Arabic usage.
There is also a gap between pride in the language and the content available to young people. While 77 per cent said they felt proud when they saw Arabic used in modern contexts, 67 per cent felt the Arabic content they encountered was dated compared with English.
Dr Ali Bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said the findings showed that young people wanted Arabic to remain relevant across the fields shaping their lives.
“Young people are not turning away from Arabic; rather, they aspire for its tools and its presence to keep pace with the rhythm of their lives, and for Arabic to be present in every field in which they learn, work, create and shape their future,” he said.
He added that strengthening Arabic’s presence in education, technology, knowledge production and the creative industries was essential to translating young people’s connection with the language into meaningful opportunities.
The report found that 81 per cent of respondents believed they had the power to shape their own future, while 77 per cent said balancing tradition and modernity was important in their career choices.
Nay Abi Ramia, Partner at Strategy& Middle East, said young people wanted to pursue their ambitions without losing their connection to their heritage.
“The opportunity now is to ensure the language has a meaningful place in the technologies they use, the content they consume and create, and the education and career pathways they pursue,” she said.
AI emerges as priorities for Arabic investment
Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as the leading priority for investment in Arabic, identified by half of the young people surveyed. Schools and universities followed at 42 per cent, government and public services at 39 per cent, and media and entertainment at 32 per cent.
The report points to shortcomings in Arabic-language AI, noting that many large language models perform less effectively in non-English and low-resource language settings and may not adequately reflect cultural context.
It recommends developing shared Arabic-language technology infrastructure, including high-quality datasets, language models, speech-recognition tools and translation resources that can work across sectors and dialects.
For 32-year-old UAE-based technology strategist Ahmed Hakim, making Arabic relevant to younger generations means taking it beyond the classroom and home.
“Arabic needs to be more than a language, children learn in school, or speak at home. We need to use it in the fields shaping our future, from artificial intelligence and science to entrepreneurship, media and the workplace,” he said.
The report sets out five priorities: connecting Arabic education with real-world and professional applications; building shared language technology; measuring the impact of Arabic digital standards on users; developing modern Arabic content and sustainable creative careers; and establishing clear accountability, tracking results and scaling successful initiatives.
Hakim added, “Better Arabic-language AI tools, translation services and voice-recognition systems that understand different dialects would make the language more accessible and relevant to younger generations.”