Coping with demographic challenges : case of Slovenian local communities

english

2018

volume 11, issue 2

Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

In recent decades, some of the remote rural Slovenian communities that have been historically dependent on traditional economies have experienced the most drastic emigration processes. Among the particularly difficult challenges that they have faced are retaining their youth and attracting new inhabitants. At the same time, some rural exurbs have experienced population growth, which presents another set of leadership challenges for the local executives, i.e. mayors. The analysis of the statistical data reveals that a) the populations of more than half municipalities experienced emigration between 2010 and 2018; b) the populations of urban centres are growing; c) more than one fifth of population live in the three largest urban municipalities and d) the population is concentrated in Slovenia's centre, near the capital city, where we have seen a trend of dramatic population growth. Further analysis shows that the municipalities, which are relatively close to the highw ays, mostly experienced population growth during the last eight years. Most of the municipalities that are located farther from the highways, and therefore more difficult to access, have experienced population declines during the same period. We conclude that regardless of how local leaders tried to improve the attractiveness of their municipalities, the state and its public policies played a key role, directly impacting local efforts and, consequently, demographic changes.

20.12.2023