Algeria 
Egypt 
Israel 
Jordan 
Lebanon 
Libya 
Morocco 
Palestine * 
Syria 
Tunisia Report on youth entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean
December 5, 2025
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In North Africa and the Middle East, 60% of the population are under 30 years of age, but the youth unemployment rate is among the highest in the world. This means that young people under 30 often live in precarious economic conditions, exacerbated by low wages and low social mobility. The need to ensure equal, sustainable employment opportunities for young people remains an indispensable element of economic growth strategies, especially in the Southern Mediterranean. Strengthening the support for youth entrepreneurship, particularly at local level, is a possible way to address regional problems effectively by promoting sustainable development, which can also help to reduce push factors for migration as well as to foster the economic and social inclusion of young people. Within the European Union, boosting smart growth by also fostering youth innovative entrepreneurship is one of the key objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. However, serious problems continue to exist in the region: from lack of vocational education opportunities and limited access to credit, to the excessive centralisation of policies supporting entrepreneurship. These and other difficulties hinder young people in launching and running a profitable company or start up.
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