Depopulation 1.0: Geography and the Factors of Rural Demographic Decline in the Spain of Developmentalism

Abstract

The debate on rural depopulation, which has centred on the demographic challenge in Spain, usually starts with consensus on its historical roots. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to inspect in detail the sociodemographic factors underlying this starting point in order to understand it and tackle it today. In the last 60 years, 65 percent of the demographic decline in rural areas is concentrated between 1960 and 1981. In the present study, I inquire into two little-known aspects of this crucial phase of rural depopulation: the geographic dimension and the factors that favoured this initial depopulation. Among the elements that contributed towards the demographic decline of rural areas are geographical isolation of mountain areas, poverty, human capital, and an almost exclusive dependence on agriculture. By contrast, the economic diversity, the demographic dimension of rural centres, disperse and dense settlement, and good public infrastructure favoured demographic resilience in the face of depopulation.