Youth

Young people living in the Middle East and North Africa face a wide range of problems. Rapid population growth in the region is such that young people under the age of 24 now make up 50-65 percent of the population of the Middle East. This places an immense strain on the infrastructures of every country, especially on educational services that are already very poor.

Minority Christians often face even greater difficulty attending good schools because of subtle ostracism or outright prejudice. The lack of good jobs for everyone in the region, even those with a university education, causes many young people to turn to desperate measures, including drugs or suicide, and it drives others to join extremist groups as they seek an outlet for their frustrations.