The Population of the Mediterranean Region During 1950–2000

Since ancient times, when some of the most influential civilisations in human history evolved in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Basin, the region has been fairly densely settled, and important population centres, some of which attained a pre-eminent position as sites of commerce, culture or power, were located on or near the Mediterranean shores. Today, the Mediterranean Basin constitutes one of the few natural boundaries dividing the developed world of the North from the developing world of the South. Indeed, the most populous European countries bordering the northern littoral of the Mediterranean are among the most advanced economies of the world, while those lying to the east and south of the Mediterranean are, for the most part, medium-income countries still facing many of the problems of underdevelopment.