Romanian Review of Regional Studies (Jan 2006)
Demographic Tendencies in the Cross-Border Region of Satu Mare (Romania) and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (Hungary) Counties
Abstract
From the point of view of trans-border co-operations, the inventory of the regional socio- economic relationships is indispensable for an exhaustive empirical study. Through this study we only begin to understand the demographic tendencies in Satu Mare County (Romania) and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County (Hungary) in order to highlight the main features of the most important resource – the human capital. The analysis of the main indicators refers, first of all, to the vital statistics, population migration, and the demographic structure. Although the economical periphery-status of the Hungarian side is not valid for the Romanian side – because Satu Mare County is a medium-developed, while Bihor County is an advanced region in Romania – the demographic periphery status is fitting to the two Romanian counties, and because the relative positive tendencies, the Hungarian counties have a quite good demographical position in comparison with other regions in Hungary. That is why we have to face a kind of contradiction because the lack of spatial interference between demographical, positional and economical peripheries. At the Hungarian side the most disadvantageous subregions from social point of view are those lying next to the border line, while in Romania the border area is the most urbanized and developed subregion. The relative good demographical situation in Hungary in great part is a consequence of the presence of the numerous Gipsy population, which in the same time represents a major reason of the disadvantaged demographic-structural indicators, such as educational level or infant-mortality.
