Demographic Challenges in the Mediterranean

The demographic challenges of the Mediterranean are not well known. Indeed, major societal changes are taking place in the region: young people’s expectations, women’s desire for greater autonomy, male-female and intergenerational relations, and the forms and size of families. These transformations have consequences on Mediterranean demographics: progress in women’s education, decline in fertility indicators, reduction in intergenerational cohabitation, rural exodus, and an increase in single-parenthood and single households. Several risks may arise from this new demographic landscape: political instability, social movements, pressures on the labour market or the depopulation of territories. At the same time, the changing demographic panorama of the region may lead to socio-economic and societal opportunities: the silver economy, improvement in the health of the population, progress in education and the demographic dividend.