Depopulation Processes in Southern Spain: the Case of the Sierra del Segura Region (Albacete)

Abstract

Since the middle of the last century, most rural areas in Spain have been subject to a significant process of depopulation. The Sierra del Segura Region (Albacete) is one of the rural areas most affected by depopulation. It is an area whose analysis is of great interest, as it has one of the lowest population densities in Europe and, at the same time, is located less than a hundred kilometres from one of the most populated areas of this continent (the Spanish Mediterranean coast). This territory has been Little studied, a fact that motivates the development of this research, with the aim of analysing the intense depopulation experienced by this rural area, the causes that have generated it and the prospects for the future. To this end, the behaviour of different demographic, social and territorial indicators is evaluated and possible initiatives for action are discussed. The results obtained from the variables analysed show similarities with the processes occurring in the most depopulated areas of Spain. The development of digitalisation and rural tourism (following the emergence of Covid-19) could act as a starting point for the socio-economic dynamism of this area, generating attraction and fixation of the population in the territory. However, despite the promotion of these activities, the future does not look promising for the localities that make up this region.