The European Union’s southern neighbourhood consists of a crescent which includes Turkey (77 million inhabitants), Israel (7), Iran (67), North Africa (164), the Arab mashreq states (45) and the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (41).
In almost all Muslim countries population growth rate is currently about 2 percent. By 2020 50 million jobs will have to be created in the Arab world. Many Arabs are migrants who live and work in Europe (around 6 million) and the rich Gulf states (2.2 million).
