American poll finds Arabs believe economy deteriorating

American poll finds Arabs believe economy deteriorating

CAIRO: Only one-quarter of Egyptians said that the economic situation in the country is heading for the better, “while about half of the Egyptians that it is tending to deteriorate,” according to an American survey conducted in 15 Arab Countries on the economy. The poll comes as Arab governments argue the worst of the global financial crisis has subsided.

The poll, conducted by the American research center Gallup, showed that only 26 percent of Egyptians believe that the economic situation is heading in the right direction, while 47 percent said that it was heading in the opposite.

According to the survey, highlighted by the America in Arabic news agency, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians and Yemenis were the most pessimistice in the Arab world and believe that the economic situation in their countries is moving towards “deterioration.” The Qataris were the most positive of Arab peoples in the belief that the economic situation in their country is heading for the better.

The Palestinians were the most among Arabs believing that the economic conditions in the occupied territories was also moving towards the worse, which was expressed by 64 percent of the Palestinians, while only 20 percent said that they believe it is improving.

The Yemenis were the most pessimistic after Palestinians, where nearly 60 percent of Yemeni respondents said “they’re bound for the worse,” while 19 percent said that the economic situation could get better in the near future.

Only 23 percent of the Lebanese said that the economic conditions in Lebanon are improving, compared to 47 percent who said that it was deteriorating.

The Gallup poll announced, published January 26, was conducted via direct interviews with the respondents to measure its survey results, with about 1000 people in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Kuwait and Tunisia being questioned.

The poll was conducted between August and November 2009.

BM