Rural development statistics in the ECE region - A new project

In recent years, international organisations have taken up work in the area of rural development statistics. Rural areas have suffered employment and population losses because the cuts in jobs in the agricultural industry have exceeded the number of jobs created in other industries which lead many rural residents to leave the countryside. In many countries as well as in international organisations, rural development policy has been on the agenda for several years as it was recognised that creating a rural environment that attracts people helps to solve problems in rural areas but also helps to slow down the continuing urbanisation and the problems arising from it. At present, the statistical information on rural areas, needed to assess the rural development policies and the rural economic, social and environmental situation is fairly thin on the ground, especially when it comes to internationally comparable data. Therefore, the UNECE Statistical Division, together with other international organisations, has started a project with the aim of arriving at international recommendations and best practices. The first step was to compile an inventory of rural development statistics that already exist in member countries and to gather some information on the policy aims of rural development. This paper summarises the main findings of the first step of the project and outlines areas for future work.