Unbalanced Natural Increase in Europe, Africa, and in the Near East

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the problem of unbalanced natural increase in Europe, Africa, and the Near East. The first part presents demographical trends occurring in the world in the twentieth century and a comparative analysis of the factors determining the natural increase. In the second part, it was carried out an analysis of demographic changes in sub-Saharan Africa and factors affecting the value of the birth (fertility) rate, which is the highest in the world on this subcontinent. The third part presents problems related to the internal unbalanced natural increase in the MENA region. In particular, it is an attempt to answer the question what factors influence the fact that, although the region is characterized by a far-reaching cultural-religious-civilization community, there are large differences between countries in term of natural increase and birth (fertility) rate, and what the effects may be. The last paragraph presents perspectives for further population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region, as well as the possible consequences of these trends, in particular concerning migration, destabilization, and new conflicts.