The major demographic changes in the Middle East and North Africa have been the massive increase in population and urbanization which has seen the The emergence of many large cities throughout the region. . The reasons for this are improved health care, greater population mobility, economic opportunities in cities and political changes. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a number of European families began to settle in the Middle East and North Africa. , with many French and other Europeans settling in Algeria from the 1830s. Many Albanians emigrated to Egypt and some Russian Orthodox communities also settled in the Holy Land. Even before the Suez Canal, there was considerable maritime traffic to and from Egypt. However, the opening of the canal in 1869 led to the massive expansion of Port Said, Ismailia, Port Suez and Aden. As increased shipping to the Middle East has led to lower costs, the number of pilgrims participating in the annual Hajj to Mecca has increased significantly. There has also been an increase in European and American tourist traffic, particularly in Egypt and the Holy Land, leading to the establishment of communities making a living from this trade. The emergence of the Young Turk movement, the decline of the Ottoman Empire and its defeat in World War I saw many changes in Asia Minor. Internal conflict with the Armenians during the war and the flight of hundreds of thousands of Greeks led to a drastic change in the population of the fledgling Republic of Türkiye. The transfer of the Turkish capital to Ankara in 1923 resulted in a move from the old capital, Constantinople. During World War II, as in World War I, the stationing of large numbers of soldiers in Egypt led to an economic boom.... .. middle of paper ......the. The port city of Aden had around 45,000 inhabitants until the 1940s, and by 1955 the population reached 139,600. The 1931 census for the Protectorate of Tunis counted the population at 2,410,692 inhabitants, including 195,293 Europeans. With the rise of the tourism industry in Tunisia starting in the 1970s, many Europeans chose to settle in the country, and by 2003 there were 100,000, and the country's population rose to 9 924,742 inhabitants. Works Cited Clarke, John I. and WB Fisher (eds.). Populations of the Middle East and North Africa: a geographical approach. London, 1972. Cooper, Charles A. and Sidney S. Alexander. Economic development and population growth in the Middle East. New York, 1971. Gilbar, Gad G. Demographic Dilemmas in the Middle East: Essays on Political Demography and Economics. London, 1997. Whittaker's Almanac. London, from 1900.