Egypt Revolution: Abu Dhabi Gallup Center Report Shows Empirical Analysis Of Conditions

What Sparked Egypt's Revolution?

Unemployment and poverty alone did not spark Egypt's revolution, according to a recent survey carried out by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center.

Egyptian protesters took to the streets in January 2011 to demand political reforms and the ouster of the country's longtime president Hosni Mubarak. After weeks of protests and a violent crackdown on demonstrators in the capital's Tahrir Square, Mubarak handed in his resignation on February 11, 2011.

According to the report, it was not simply absolute levels of unemployment and poverty that lead to the protests, but rather "the perceived difference between what should be and what was."

The center explains that although Egypt's economy grew in the years before the revolution -- increasing about 5% in 2010 -- a majority of the population felt the growth only benefited a small, wealthy minority. Gallup evaluates how people rate their lives and calls this parameter "evaluative wellbeing." The study concludes that despite Egypt's rising national wealth, a majority of Egyptians did not perceive their quality of living to have risen as well.

Additionally, many Egyptians grew increasingly discontent with the social services provided by the paternalistic state.

You can read the full report, Egypt: The Arithmetic of Revolution, on the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center's website.

Before You Go

Egypt Protests Dramatic Shots

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot