The sample was designed such that results may be analysed based on the regions, provinces, and principal administrative divisions of all surveyed societies. The survey consisted of face-to-face interviews with a sample of 40,130 respondents, making the AOI the largest public opinion survey in the Arab world.
More than 413,000 hours of work was needed to carry out these surveys by a team of 1,000 researchers, equally balanced in gender. The team covered a total distance of over 1,000,000 kilometres. The results of the index for the 15 surveyed countries represent a general average for all countries of the Arab world, which is calculated by assigning equal weight to public opinion in each state without distinction (i.e. instead of using the weight of each state relative to its population, all states are treated as similar units within the same population). This approach avoids bias toward countries with larger populations in calculating overall public opinion.
The results of the index are presented according to the countries surveyed and the general average of the Arab world. For the purposes of comparison, data from the surveyed countries is classified according to the geographic regions of the Arab world, namely:
• The Arab Maghreb: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia.
• The Nile Valley: Egypt and Sudan.
• The Arab Mashreq: Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.
• The Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar
The AOI is a yearly public opinion survey conducted by the ACRPS across a range of Arab countries. It provides important data about trends in Arab public opinion on a range of economic, social and political issues of direct relevance to Arab citizens, including democracy, citizenship, equality, and civil and political participation. It presents citizens’ evaluations of their own circumstances, general conditions in their home countries, state institutions and their confidence therein. It also looks at their attitudes towards Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as the regional policy of international and regional powers (such as USA, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Turkey).