PATRÓNS DE DESPOBOAMENTO DO RURAL GALEGO: UNHA ANÁLISE POR COMARCAS

Abstract

Abstract. We perform a statistic al analysis to test and measure some of the classic results about the demographic perspectives of Galician population and the rural – urban polarity. First, we isolate a drag effect from historical emigration to identify different patterns of depopulation at county level over the past two decades without the historical migration effect. This analysis would show an alternative view of the depopulation process, characterized by the formation of a central ring of positive demographic dynamics from the Galician cities inland. Second, we extend the statistical analysis of the rural – urban polarity with a measurement of the effect by various parameters on the geographical population structuring. The shire town population – with a population loss of - 0.83% per year in counties with a shire town of less than 5,000 - and the driving distance to the nearest of the seven Galician cities - with an additional - 0.27% - reveal determinant. Third, beyond the drag effect of past migration and the geographical structure, the perf ormance of the different counties is explained in terms of the sectorial distribution of GDP, with the purpose of identifying the economic sectors that helped the most, in the recent years, to contain population decline in rural counties.