ABSTRACT
Although in many ways the twentieth century has followed trends started previously, there have been a number of ways in which these trends have developed to provide unique characteristics within the environment. In part, these relate to the major technological advances that have been made, partly as a response to ever-growing populations at the global scale. In this chapter, we evaluate the major population trends that have taken place within the Mediterranean Basin, their spatial patterns and the processes underlying them. Although the Mediterranean world has previously formed a core role in world systems (see Chapter 12), there have been global developments starting in the nineteenth century that mean the Mediterranean world has played a more peripheral role in the twentieth century. One upshot of this development has been the significant levels of migration out of the area, both within Europe and globally. But also, the strong north-south gradients that have been present throughout much of the historical period have, if anything, become more accentuated through the development processes of the twentieth century. Following from this, their are also strong inter-regional population movements.
