Depopulation in rural areas

Background on the rural population

England

Statistics on the rural population in England are available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) publication Population statistics for rural England. According to Defra’s analysis, in 2020:

• Around 9.7 million people in England lived in rural areas (17% of the population)
• England’s rural population grew in absolute terms between 2011 and 2020, but fell slightly as a proportion of the total population. This is because the urban population grew faster.
• The more rural an area was, the older its average age and the faster its average age was increasing. 25% of the rural population was aged 65 or over in 2020, compared with 17% of the urban population.

When looking at internal migration within England, the trend is for net positive migration into areas classed as ‘predominantly rural’ (that is, more people moving into the area than leaving it). There is net migration away from areas classed as ‘predominantly urban’. This trend is reversed amongst the 17-20 year old age group, however.

Internal migration isn’t the only determinant of population change. Population change is also affected by births, deaths, and international migration. These other factors explain why the urban population has grown faster than the rural population despite the pattern above.

Scotland

According to the Scottish Government’s Rural Scotland Key Facts 2021 publication:

• Around 17% of Scotland’s population lived in rural areas in 2019, with 6% living in ‘remote rural’ areas (classed as those more than 30 minutes’ drive away from a settlement with a population of 10,000 or more).
• Between 2011 and 2019, the population grew by 0.1% in remote rural areas, 8% in accessible rural areas, and 3% in the rest of Scotland.
• 26% of the population of remote rural areas is aged 65 or over, compared with 21% in accessible rural areas and 18% in the rest of Scotland.

The National Records of Scotland published further research as part of its Mid-2021 small area population estimates [PDF]. The report found that over the year from mid-2020 to mid-2021, the population of urban areas fell while population tended to grow in more rural areas. This trend was likely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wales

Similar recent analysis is not available for Wales. However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published analysis of the number of people living in settlements of different sizes in England and Wales at the time of the 2021 census.

12% of people in Wales lived outside of a settlement, and 21% lived in small villages or hamlets with a population of less than 5,000. In England, 21% of the population lived outside of settlements and 11% lived in small villages or hamlets.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has an annual Key rural issues publication. According to the 2023 publication:

• 36% of Northern Ireland’s population lived in a rural area in 2020.
• The population of rural areas grew by 20% between 2001 and 2020, while the population of urban areas grew by 7%.

Further reading

Statistics

• Defra, Population Statistics for Rural England
• Defra, Housing Statistics for Rural England
• Defra, Communities and Households Statistics for Rural England
• Office for National Statistics, Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021. This briefing compares demographic and economic trends in different types of settlement, from villages to major towns and cities.
• Scottish Government, Rural Scotland Key Facts 2021
• Scottish Government, Rural Scotland Data Dashboard: Overview. Covers projected population change from 2018 to 2043.
• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland), Key Rural Issues

Reports

• Delivering rural opportunity: third report on rural proofing, DEFRA, March 2024
• Tackling rural depopulation, Wales Centre for Public Policy, December 2023
• Rural Youth Out-Migration and Population Change in Wales, Wales Centre for Public Policy, December 2023
• The rural–urban poverty gap in England after the 2008 financial crisis: exploring the effects of budgetary cuts and welfare reforms, Regional Studies, August 2023
• What would it take to level up the UK’s rural areas? Economics Observatory, June 2023
• The strategic case for equitable recognition of rural economies in Levelling Up policies, National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, November 2021
• Rural recognition, recovery, resilience and revitalisation, Local Government Association/ Pragmatix Advisory, September 2021
• Levelling up rural towns: Why not every rural town can become a Tunbridge Wells, Centre for Cities, September 2021
• Rural Lives: Understanding financial hardship and vulnerability in rural areas, Standard Life Foundation, March 2021

Parliamentary material

• Cost of living: impact on rural communities in Scotland, House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, HC 153, January 2024
• Employment of people living in rural and coastal communities, House of Commons Library, 30 January 2024 – Library briefing published for the debate Coastal and Rural Communities: Employment, 1 February 2024.
• Levelling Up Rural Britain, House of Commons Library, 8 November 2022 – Library briefing published for the debate Levelling Up Rural Britain, 9 November 2022.
• Levelling up the rural economy: an inquiry into rural productivity, All-Parliamentary Group for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse, April 2022.