Démographie et migrations des pays en développement vers les pays riches : les spécificités de l'Afrique subsaharienne

Sub-Saharan Africa has not been so far a developing area with a high migration rate to host rich countries. Rather far from them, too poor ? migration is expensive ?, still turned towards Europe yet less opened and maybe less pulling than North America, sub-Saharan Africa has demography for only potential migration factor, except the political situation, the study could not take into account. Like in any country rather sparsely populated, sub-Saharan peoples are prone to migrate even if the low rural population density weakens the effect. Moreover, as the populations have got younger during the 90s because of a demographic transition far from being completed, their migration rate to rich countries should have risen. Young men are swifter indeed to leave their countries. Legal migrations have admittedly increased but in proportion to sub-Saharan population. Maybe the tougher economic conditions during the 90s for potential migrants and the tightening of immigration policies have partly offset the demographic pressure. It may have also led more and more migrants to live underground in the rich countries, or to go to African bordering countries or from the land to cities ? the both ways for the poorer to migrate.