Social diversification in „rural Europe”

Abstract

The Author presents the social diversification of the rural populations in 21 European Union countries using the European Social Survey databases of 2010. In her article, she addresses the following issues: how different is the rural population from the rest of the country’s population; do their demographic structures, sources of income, education, and social-occupational structures differ; how large are these differences and can certain types of rural social structures in Europe be distinguished? The age structure, activity, income sources, education, and occupations were analyzed and shown in the context of each country’s degree of ruralization, level of socio-economic development, and income variation. The author concludes that “rural Europe” is more diverse than European society as a whole. The rural population is also slightly older and less educated. Labourers are the dominant social group in rural Europe and farmers are the least numerous group almost everywhere.