State of the UK Countryside 2007

Rural facts from the rural UK:

• In 2005 the average rural business employed 6 employees. This compares with 16 employees in urban firms.

• The three-year survival rate of enterprises registering in 2002 in rural areas was 76% (6% higher than urban districts).

The UK is addressing rural issues with a Commission for Rural Communities. They have just released The State of the Countryside 2007 report. It provides a comprehensive description of social, economic and environmental conditions and changes across rural England. They have done a good job highlighting the main challenges and future trends for government and other organizations.

They have done a good job of dividing the report for presentation on the web, plus you can download the full report.

Here are a couple more facts from the report:

• 1 in 3 rural households (1.38 million rural households) are ‘workless’, with no adult of working age in work.

• Between 2002/3 and 2005/6, rural local authorities experienced a 209% growth in non-UK migrant workers compared with 67% growth in urban areas.

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

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