A few days ago, the "Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies" issued its annual index, the "Arab Index", which measures public opinion trends in the Arab world, from the periphery to the Gulf.

The index - as far as I know - is the largest opinion poll that takes place in the Arab world every year, both in terms of the sample whose opinions are being polled, which exceeded 30,000 in the last round of the index that was released a few days ago (specifically 33,300 respondents in 14 Arab countries), Or in terms of indicators and variables that are measured, which amounted to about 472 variables.

The "Arab Index" is rich in numbers, indicators, and indications that reflect the trends and opinions of the Arab street, away from government propaganda that does not reflect reality in any way.

It is in itself a rich and good raw material for researchers interested in knowing the opinions of the Arab citizen on many issues, starting with his living conditions, passing through the political, social and religious conditions, and ending with regional and international issues.

And if it is not possible in this space to review all the numbers and indicators that were mentioned in the Arab Index in its eighth session (all the results of the index for this session and those that preceded it are published and available on the website of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies for those who wish to view them), but it is important to stand on Some important and disturbing indicators that will have an important impact on the economic and political conditions in the Arab countries during the current year and the coming years.

First: More than half of Arab citizens (about 54%) describe the economic conditions in their countries as negative

(bad or very bad), while about 52% believe that their countries are going in the wrong direction, mainly as a result of economic reasons (about 40%). ), where many Arab citizens suffer from poor incomes and are unable to spend on their basic needs of food, drink, clothing and housing.

For example, 42% of them believe that they are unable to save from their income after covering their basic needs, while 28% live in a state of destitution, as their income does not cover their basic needs.

This means that about 70% of Arab citizens live in difficult economic conditions.

Rather, two-thirds of Arab citizens live on debt and borrowing, whether from relatives, neighbours, friends and banks, and quite a few of them (about 10%) are forced to sell their properties in order to cover their expenses and basic needs.

Second: Half of the Arab citizens (49% to be exact) describe the political situation in their countries as bad,

which is an increase of about 4% compared to the previous cycle of the index in 2019-2020.

Lebanon comes at the forefront of these countries (99%), followed by Sudan (87%), then Tunisia (86%), Jordan (77%), Iraq (75%), Libya (63%), and Egypt (54%).

These are alarming figures, especially in large countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Sudan, which together constitute more than a third of the population in the Arab world.

Therefore, it is not surprising that more than two-thirds of Arab citizens wish to emigrate from their countries (about 70%).

Third: More than half of the Arab citizens do not trust civil institutions such as parliaments, the government and civil

agencies, compared to their trust in the military, security and intelligence institutions.

It is a worrying indicator, but it reflects the weakness of civil structures and institutions in the Arab world.

Perhaps this is consistent with the conviction of nearly half of the Arab citizens that their societies are not ready for democracy at present (about 47%), despite the fact that the majority of them (about 72%) support the democratic system as the best system for their countries.

This means that the issue of change in the Arab world needs a great effort in order to change the political culture of Arab citizens and increase their confidence in civil institutions.

Perhaps a good indicator, in this regard, is that half of the Arab citizens (about 53%) reject the rule of the army and the military.

Fourth: Despite the failure of the Arab revolutions to achieve good and tangible results, whether political or economic

, there is a positive evaluation of these revolutions.

About 46% of Arab citizens see the revolutions as a positive thing, compared to about 39% who evaluated them negatively.

Indeed, about 40% of Arab citizens believe that these revolutions are passing through a stage of temporary stumbling, and that they will eventually achieve their goals, while approximately 39% believe that they have ended and that the old regimes have returned to rule again.

This reflects the division among Arab citizens over revolutions in general.

Perhaps the surprising thing is that there is a positive evaluation of the Arab revolutions, despite the attempts to distort them over the past decade by the counter-revolution, which spent billions of dollars in propaganda campaigns to demonize the revolutions and those who participated in them.

Finally, there is a growing sense of political apathy and indifference among the Arab citizen, which is embodied in several indicators.

For example, nearly two-thirds of Arab citizens (64%) are not interested in following up on the political affairs in their countries, and this may be either a complete loss of confidence in the political process, or their preoccupation with their difficult economic conditions.

The level of Arab citizens' trust in political parties is also very low, as more than two-thirds of citizens are not affiliated with any political parties and there is no political party that represents them.

These and other indicators represent clear evidence that the Arab world is going through difficult conditions politically and economically, and that the continuation of these conditions as they are threatens dire consequences not only for the people, but also for the rulers and officials.

If I were an Arab official, I would have formed special committees to study the results of the "Arab Index", and would have been directed to draw up new policies to deal with these indicators, before the unforeseen consequences happen.