The World is Especially Messy in the Mid-Latitudes

Last Friday was World Humanitarian Day. I admit that I missed it at the time, but the Humanitarian Information Unit of the U.S. State Department did not. Indeed, they created a very useful, even if somewhat dispiriting global map showing the various humanitarian "situations" that currently exist. To my knowledge, none of these situations is caused solely and directly by demography, but of course demographic trends underlie everything going on in the world, in some way or another. In most of these instances, a history of rapid population growth has combined with insufficient economic growth to create environments in which political instability and violence can fester and erupt. Note, in particular, that the mid-latitudes are way over-represented in this map. The problems created in those places, especially Africa and South Asia, but also Latin America, then spread over into neighboring countries.

Next week's European Population Conference, taking place in Mainz, Germany, has the theme of "Demographic Change and Policy Implications". With any luck, this map will be a centerpiece for much of the conference's discussion.