ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the main reasons for the differences in the proportions of men and women in national and regional populations and seeks to appreciate changes in gender differences in life expectancy. It aims to understand the underlying reasons for gendered patterns of migration. Gender differences in life expectancy have been linked to the identification of a situation of ‘missing’ women. In 2000 the gender ratio among foreign-born residents in Libya was 227 men to 100 women, indicating a continuing dominance of single male migrants. Both men and women migrate but the reasons for the migration, the type of destination and the length of time spent at the destination are often gender specific. Sex-specific migration or warfare may distort the normal demographic pattern. In Libya, during the 1970s and 1980s, a booming economy suffering from a labour shortage attracted many foreign workers and by 1983 these foreigners made up 48 per cent of the workforce.
