Continuities and discontinuities in demographic change in the Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean region has always been a cultural crossroad - “mille choses à la fois” (Braudel, 1986) - and is at present experiencing a period of extensive change. In addition to localized instability (the Balkans, the Middle East, Algeria), less visible but equally momentous upheavals with far-reaching implications are under way. From an economic perspective, the trend to globalisation is responsible for ever greater interpenetration, on one side, of highly disparate domestic economies and, on the other side, of social and demographic structures. Using data coming from the United Nations population projections, our main intent is to unveil the existing discontinuities hidden by the apparent convergence of main demographic variables concerning the Mediterranean countries