Chapter 7 - Youth migration from rural areas in the Mediterranean: socio-economic determinants, challenges and opportunities for targeted policies

Abstract

The Mediterranean is a historical crossroads region in terms of the movement of people. Since the 1960s, labour migration has become a structural feature of the region’s economies. In 2015, nearly 24 million (23.9) people from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including registered refugees were living outside their country of birth. In this region, the majority of international migrants are originally from either the Mashreq or North Africa (93%) and 50% of migrants from North African countries go to Europe (IOM, 2016).