Migration waves will only grow larger
Flows of migrants fleeing violence and poverty have remade the politics of Europe and the United States in recent years, writes Willis Sparks of GZERO Media.
What to watch: A startling new study from Stanford University warns that the conflicts we’ve seen to date may just be the opening act of a much larger and more dangerous drama.
The report traces migration booms from Syria and Central America to droughts and social unrest.
Now a look to the future.
- The authors warn that populations are set to explode in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Central America.
- The working-age population of sub-Saharan Africa alone is expected to increase by nearly a billion people between 2020 and 2060.
- In coming decades, overcrowding in these places will exacerbate desertification, water shortages and urbanization. Mounting ecological stresses will provoke violent political conflict, forcing more people to hit the road in search of a better life.
In other words: The combination of extreme weather patterns and growing populations of young people in poorer countries will combine to create more migration, more political anger and a greater risk of conflict within and among countries.
Go deeper:
• Data du jour: Where immigrants are, and aren’t
Πηγή: axios.com
