The Middle East and North Africa recorded a increase in the poverty rate from 8.5 percent in 2022 to 9.4 percent in 2025. Every other global region saw a decline in poverty.
Children bear the heaviest burden in this crisis. Three in five youngsters under five years old experience food poverty across the region. One in five suffers severe food poverty.
European Barriers Cannot Stop Economic Tides
Europe’s latest migration pact, adopted in May 2024, represents fortress thinking at its finest.
The European Union seeks to present a "European solution" to migration while Mediterranean crossings claimed 2,300 lives in 2024 alone.
Border controls might slow arrivals temporarily. Irregular crossings to Europe dropped by 40 percent in 2024. Yet 122.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide increased by 11.5 percent compared to 2023.
When poverty pushes people from their homes, walls cannot hold them back forever. Economic hardship breeds movement. Movement breeds pressure on European borders.
Aid Cuts Fuel Tomorrow’s Crisis
European development assistance has taken a wrong turn. European governments slashed €4.8 billion in long-term development funding during early 2024. Much of this money was earmarked for Africa.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid flows to the Middle East and North Africa reached almost €470 million for 2024. Emergency funding treats symptoms. Development assistance treats causes.
EU member states shifted funding priorities from human rights to migration control. The bloc allocated just €2 million for regional democracy programmes in 2023.
The Alternative: Economic Partnership
Smart Europeans might reconsider their approach entirely. Instead of building barriers, Europe could build bridges. Trade partnerships create jobs. Jobs reduce poverty. Reduced poverty limits migration pressures.
Sweden recently adopted a development strategy focusing on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa. The strategy aims to “counteract the root causes of irregular migration” through economic development.
Gulf states possess capital whilst North African countries offer labour. European markets need both energy and goods. Economic integration could benefit all parties.
Critics might say Europe cannot solve global poverty through trade alone. Wars and climate change drive displacement alongside economic factors. Political instability makes long-term investments risky.
Yet Europe already spends billions on border security and emergency aid. Redirecting some resources toward economic partnerships could yield better returns. Stable economies produce fewer migrants than unstable ones.
Building Bridges Instead of Walls
By 2030, demographic pressures will intensify across North Africa and the Middle East. Young populations need work. European populations age and require workers. Geography makes these regions natural partners.
Current policies undercut economic logic. Europe restricts movement while demand for labour grows. The continent builds walls while poverty rises next door. The status quo cannot last.
Sweden’s new development strategy offers one model. Focus on economic growth rather than political conditions. Support job creation over governance programmes. Help neighbours prosper rather than policing their borders.
A stable and prosperous Middle East serves European interests better than a poor and unstable one. Economics trumps barriers every time. The choice lies before European policymakers: partner with neighbours or wait for poverty to knock down their walls.
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