Depopulation and its consequences for the regions In Europe

Ralf Mai, Federal Institute for Population Research, Germany
Hansjoerg Bucher, Federal Office for Building and Planning, Germany

In our paper we present an analysis of depopulation in the regions of Europe. We analyse the concept, trends, causes and consequences of depopulation in a comparative and regional overview. Moreover, the study includes the analysis of two spatial categories, as we look at both rural and urban regions and analyse their depopulating trends. In three steps we will identify depopulating regions, characterise them by demographic and socio-economic attributes and categorise them with multivariate methods to find groups with similar constellations. In an outlook we present selected regional demographic projections and discuss the effects of depopulation by presenting best practices to maintain regional services and infrastructure. Our paper is based on the use of national and international statistical data, as well as literature from international sources. The regional level we analysed is the official NUTS-3-level; the study contains 32 European countries with more than 1300 regions in total.