Creating jobs for a growing young population is the biggest challenge facing the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

According to the IMF in its latest report, 5.5 million new workers will join the Mena labour force each year for the next five years. With 60 per cent of the population under 30, creating new jobs is becoming an increasingly difficult task for governments and rulers across the region.

“In the past five years, the region’s working-age population increased by 50.2 million, and 27.6 million people joined the labour force. Yet employment increased by only 25.4 million,” the IMF revealed.

Unemployment rates in the Mena region averaged 10.6 per cent in 2016, significantly higher than the 7.2 per cent in advanced economies.