By Jane Craigie
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS
OECD to Launch New Report: Reinforcing Rural Resilience
[Paris, France] One-third of rural households in OECD countries still lack access to high-speed broadband, limiting opportunities for education, jobs, and healthcare.
The OECD’s latest flagship report Reinforcing Rural Resilience will launch at the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Regional Development Policy in Poland on 19 May 2025.
The report calls for a new approach to rural areas – not as places in decline, but as key contributors to national growth, innovation and the green transition. It offers fresh data and actionable policy advice to help unlock rural potential and address rising inequalities.
Key findings
Demographic change
- Rural populations grew by just 3% from 2001–2021, compared to 13% in cities.
- Nearly 47% of rural regions near small towns and 40% of remote rural regions are shrinking.
- The share of older people in rural areas has doubled since 2001, with the highest ageing rates in remote rural regions. The old-age dependency ratio in rural remote regions reached 38% in 2021, the highest across rural types
Economic performance
- Metropolitan regions outpaced rural regions in economic growth (GDP growth of 2.2% per year vs. 1.7%) between 2001 and 2021, but Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland saw stronger rural growth.
- Rural regions near small cities recorded the highest GDP growth among rural types at 9% annually.
- In 16 OECD countries, rural regions outperformed metro regions in GDP per capita growth from 2001–2021.
Jobs and industry
- Rural regions account for nearly half of OECD manufacturing jobs, despite smaller populations.
- They produce 63% of the OECD’s renewable energy, with remote regions leading in clean electricity production.
- The tradeable sector (goods and services sold beyond local markets) remains a key driver of rural competitiveness and productivity growth.
Service Gaps and Inequalities
- One-third of rural households lack high-speed broadband, and only 7 of 26 OECD countries have achieved 80% rural coverage.
- Life expectancy is 2.4 years lower in remote rural areas in 2022, and only 66% of residents in remote areas had healthcare access within a 20-minute drive, compared to 86% in cities.
- PISA results show urban students outperform rural students in reading by an average of 45 points— equivalent more than a full year of schooling. Even after adjusting for socio-economic factors, the gap remains at 21 points.
Remote Work and the Green Transition
- Remote working in rural areas doubled from 2019 to 2021 (from 9% to 9.5%), but uptake remains lower than in cities (18.1%).
- Rural areas produce 3 MWh of electricity per capita, over six times more than large cities, and with significantly lower CO₂ intensity.
- Despite their clean energy leadership, rural regions face higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions due to older housing and long travel distances.
Share of rural regions growing above national average for GDP per capita
Note: This graph shows the share of rural regions out of all rural regions in a country that grew at a higher level (i.e. GDP per capita CAGR between 2001-21) than the national average.
Source: OECD Regional Indicators.
Policy Message
Rural areas have untapped potential but face growing demographic, economic, and service challenges. To unlock opportunities, governments must adopt targeted, place-based policies that foster competitiveness in rural regions. The report also finds that improving environmental quality, access to services, and meaningful engagement with rural communities is critical to raising well-being and shaping positive perceptions about rural life.
Media representatives interested in arranging interviews with OECD experts may contact Shayne.MacLachlan@oecd.org.
For more information about OECD work on regional, rural and urban development, please visit https://www.oecd.org/regional/
About the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Our goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all. We draw on 60 years of experience and insights to better prepare the world of tomorrow.
Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing international norms and finding evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and global standard-setting.