Socio-economic situation and demographic evolution in rural areas of the EU

Inmaculada Garcia de Fernando Sonseca, European Commission

The presentation will show some relevant socio-economic indicators and main findings from the "Rural Development, Statistical and Economic Information Report 2010" of DG AGRI. One of the main changes of this fifth edition is the use of the new typology of rural areas as agreed jointly by DG AGRI and DG REGIO in contrast with the previous versions where the OECD definition (2005) was employed. According to this methodology, the population of urban areas is determined by calculating the population density to grid cells of 1 km2. The main focus of this analysis is to present a comparison of the evolution rural areas versus urban regions. The statistical outcome of this report will be complemented with the conclusions of other studies and notes carried within DG AGRI such: • The ongoing SEGIRA project on employment in rural areas with a special focus on women and young people. • Comparative analysis of the GDP per capita growth in rural areas and its main determinants, with a special mention to the demographic and labour aspects.