TheArab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world. It has been conducting public opinion surveys in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since 2006.[1][2][3] It is the largest repository of publicly available data on the views of men and women in the MENA region. The project has conducted more than 70,000 interviews over five waves of surveys across 15 countries in MENA since 2006.[4][5][6] The project is organized through a partnership betweenPrinceton University, theUniversity of Michigan, and regional partners across the Middle East and North Africa.[7] The project is governed by a Steering Committee including academics and researchers from MENA and the United States.
The project was founded by Dr.Amaney Jamal (Princeton University) and Dr. Mark Tessler (University of Michigan). The first wave was carried out across seven countries from 2006 to 2007. Fieldwork was overseen by Dr.Fares Braizat of theCenter for Strategic Studies (CSS) at theUniversity of Jordan. The second wave covered 10 countries (2010–11) and spanned the events of theArab uprisings. The result of the revolutions inEgypt andTunisia resulted in the expansion of coverage to include these cases. Fieldwork was overseen by Dr. Mohammad Al Masri of CSS. The third wave (2012–14) was conducted in 12 countries and fieldwork was led by Dr. Walid al-Khatib and Dr. Sara Ababneh of CSS.
In 2014, Dr. Michael Robbins was appointed as project director. Meanwhile, the project transitioned to a model with core partners across the region, including theCenter for Strategic Studies at theUniversity of Jordan, thePalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, andOne to One for Research and Polling (Tunisia).
The fourth wave was carried out across 7 countries in 2016. The fifth wave (2018-19) was carried out across 12 countries and included larger sample sizes (2,400 respondents) in most countries. In total, more than 25,000 surveys were carried out making this the largest and most in depth publicly available survey ever carried out across the Middle East and North Africa.[8] The survey was conducted in partnership with theBBC Arabic. Results were also covered in major media outlets across the world includingThe Economist,[9]The Washington Post,[10][11][12]The New York Times,[13]The Guardian,[14]Al Jazeera,[15]Deutsche Welle,[16] andThe Daily Star,[17] among others.
The sixth wave (2020-2021) spanned the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and interviews were conducted in seven countries bycomputer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The seventh wave (2021-2022) returned to in-person interviewing viacomputer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). The wave covered 12 countries across the region including more than 26,000 interviews. The results were covered extensively in the media, including by theBBC Arabic,[18][19]The Washington Post,[20][21]TheArab News,[22]The Wilson Center,[23]TheMiddle East Eye,[24]Foreign Policy,[25] TheAtlantic Council,[26]Newsweek,[27] andDeutsche Welle,[28] among others.
All interviews are conducted with citizens of a country who are eighteen years of age or older. Sampling is done scientifically to ensure that results are representative for the country. Surveys are conducted face-to-face in the respondent's place of residence.[29][30] Arab Barometer data is available to the public at no charge. The survey questionnaires and data downloads are available on its website.[31]
Wave 1 survey (2006–2007) in 7 countries: Algeria, Bahrain (2009), Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Yemen.
Wave 2 survey (2010–2011) in 10 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Wave 3 survey (2012–2014) in 12 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Wave 4 survey (2016) in 7 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
Wave 5 survey (2018–2019) in 12 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Wave 6 survey (2020–2021) in 7 countries: Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Wave 7 survey (2021–2022) in 12 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, and Tunisia.
Wave 8 survey (2023–present) in 8 countries: Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia
Arab Barometer has been featured in various media and news outlets includingUSA Today,CBC News,The New York Times,BBC News,Die Zeit,N1,CNN, andForeign Affairs.[32]