"The Shifting Demographics of the Middle East" with Nicholas Eberstadt | MEF Podcast Ep. #351

Demographic decline has arrived in the Middle East. This process is challenging long-held assumptions about the region’s resilience to global fertility trends. The Middle East was once thought immune or less susceptible to demographic decline due to cultural and religious norms. Now, countries like Iran and Tunisia are experiencing sub-replacement birth rates. As populations shrink and age, economic and geopolitical consequences loom. But why has this process begun? Is it merely a phase, or a permanent transformation? How will societies adapt? And what are the implications for the region’s future stability?

Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He has authored numerous works, including Men Without Work: Post-Pandemic Edition (2022) and Lessons for an Unserious Superpower (2024). Dr. Eberstadt holds a PhD, MPA, and AB from Harvard University and an MSc from the London School of Economics