{"id":106909,"date":"2026-08-20T13:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T09:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/?p=106909"},"modified":"2026-08-20T13:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T09:23:10","slug":"gcc-youth-lead-world-in-digital-skills-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/gcc-youth-lead-world-in-digital-skills-report\/","title":{"rendered":"GCC Youth Lead World in Digital Skills: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

GCC youth are outperforming their global peers in several key information and communication technology skills. This is according to new data from the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-STAT).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings reflect growing investment by GCC countries in education and youth skills development. Governments are preparing young people for technological change and future labour market needs. Notably, government spending on education<\/a> in some GCC countries reached about 17 percent in 2024. This is well above the global average of 12.6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important as the world shifts toward a digital economy. These skills empower young people in the labour market. They also stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, and support lifelong learning. Furthermore, they play a role in protecting privacy and promoting responsible digital citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data, released in a weekly bulletin marking International Youth Day, revealed striking gaps between GCC youth and their global counterparts. For instance, 100 percent of GCC youth had file-copying skills, compared with just 54 percent globally. Similarly, 95.2 percent had social networking skills, against a global rate of 68 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, 75.9 percent of GCC youth possessed privacy settings skills, compared with only 34 percent worldwide. When it comes to information verification, 61.6 percent of GCC youth demonstrated this skill, compared with 24 percent globally. Meanwhile, programming skills stood at approximately 31.8 percent among GCC youth, compared with just 6 percent globally. Together, these figures highlight a significant gap between basic and advanced digital skills across regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This emphasis on education and skills development forms part of a broader effort by GCC countries. The goal is to prepare a generation capable of keeping pace with technological transformation and evolving labour-market needs. Moreover, these indicators align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those addressing poverty reduction and quality education. One key target is increasing the number of young people and adults with skills relevant to employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken together, these indicators confirm that investment in education is no longer limited to expanding access to knowledge. Instead, it has become a pillar of human capital development, competitiveness, and preparedness for the digital economy. The rising levels of ICT skills among GCC youth also point to a broader trend: building human capabilities better equipped for innovation, entrepreneurship, and adaptation to rapid labour-market shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings are consistent with the 2026 Human Development Report. That report emphasises the importance of recognising differing contexts, strengthening global solidarity, and investing in young people across regions. It also stresses supporting those who face the greatest obstacles, so that no young person is left behind in the development process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the data on ICT skills among GCC youth stand as an important indicator of growing investment in human capital. Government expenditure on education in some GCC countries has risen well above the global average. As a result, this has been accompanied by clear progress in digital skills, including programming, privacy, information verification, and social networking. These are skills that have become essential for empowering GCC youth in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GCC youth are outperforming their global peers in several key […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":106908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9618],"tags":[641],"contributor":[9732],"class_list":["post-106909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-pick","tag-gcc","contributor-news-desk"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GCC-Youth.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Rabab","author_link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/author\/rabab\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t