Despite declining fertility rates, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) population size increased fourfold in the second half of the 20th century. One consequence of this demographic explosion is a notably young population where two in every three people currently living in the region is under the age of 24. While the youthful population provides a demographic momentum for economic growth in the future, when young people enter the job market, it poses difficult challenges in many areas of social and economic life. This entry looks at pressures of population on education in the MENA region.