Study Reveals Top Countries Where People Are Shifting To Rural Life

Traditionally, youngsters have left rural life to seek a better life and work in the city. However, this is now changing as high living costs and poor quality of life have people heading back to the countryside. This is for a variety of reasons, but one major reason is the number of digital nomads, or remote workers, that can now live wherever they please.

Study shows that people in these 10 countries are returning to rural life

A new study has been run by Deluxe Holiday Homes to analyze which are the top countries where people are returning to rural life. The research analyzed more than 50 countries, taking several factors into account. Among these factors are rural population growth and living costs in urban vs. rural areas.

Additional factors taken into account include living costs, quality of life as well as remote working statistics helped to clarify the reasons for this rural migration trend. Meanwhile, the countries where populations are moving to rural environments are listed below.

1. Iceland leads the way

Coming in at number one, Iceland leads the ranking of countries where populations are heading back to rural areas, with a 1.71 percent increase in its rural population. Meanwhile, the country is leading with the highest quality of life, which encourages moves away from the urban centers. The study shows that Iceland’s rural areas are especially appealing due to comparative affordability, even though the rural cost of living is $871 monthly, which is relatively high.

2. Pakistan

Pakistan comes in second place, with a 1.44 percent increase in its rural population. Meanwhile, the country still sees a trend of its population moving to rural areas, even though the lowest costs of living are experienced in both urban and rural areas.

3. Kenya

Ranked in third place on the list of countries, Kenya features a 1.2 percent rise in population moving back to rural life. According to the study, the increase is driven by 29 percent of individuals working remotely, while preferring the peace and quiet of life away from urban centers.

4. The Philippines

The Philippines has seen a 0.91 percent increase in rural inhabitants, and the fact that more than half the population has shifted to remote working. Meanwhile, the huge difference in living costs between cities and the countryside makes heading to rural life an attractive option.

5. Nigeria

Coming in fifth place, Nigeria has a 0.73 percent increase in its rural population. Part of this is that remote work in the African country has increased by 200 percent is just two years. However, the shift to rural life is growing, despite the small difference between living costs.

6. Germany

Germany ranks in sixth place, with a 0.50 percent growth in its rural population. In this case, the significant cost difference between urban areas ($1076) and rural ($599) is a major cause of the shift. Moreover, 35.3 percent of Germans are now remote workers, securing the trend for rural life.

7. Cyprus

Next in line is Cyprus, with a 0.42 percent increase in rural living. Here, the major difference in living costs between urban and rural areas makes the latter an attractive choice for anyone seeking peace, quiet and affordability away from the major cities and tourist locations.

8. Switzerland

Coming in at number eight is Switzerland, with a 0.39 percent increase in its rural population. Meanwhile, the country features the highest living costs in a study. Despite this, the gap between rural ($1153) and urban ($1760) is also the largest making rural locations attractive for those leaving urban areas.

9. Austria

Austria comes in ninth in the study, revealing a 0.33 percent increase in rural populations. However, cheaper living costs in rural areas, plus the country’s beautiful alpine scenery, make it a prime choice for those seeking affordability in a natural environment. Moreover, the trend stresses a growing wish to get the benefits of cost savings with living in a rural area.

10. Ireland

Ireland features at number ten in the list of countries where populations are moving back to rural areas, with a 0.31 percent rise in rural population. Moreover, the cost of living difference of $452.01 between urban and rural life, along with 25 percent of the population working remotely, Ireland truly reveals the economic and lifestyle benefits of rural life. The combination of remote working and financial savings truly reveals the attraction of rural Ireland.

Readers can find more information about the study here.