El impacto socioeconómico y territorial de la COVID-19 en la población (extranjera) en zonas rurales de Aragón: ¿revitalización demográfica?

(Artículo de monográfico)

Abstract

The hypothesis of a “rural reactivation” has been present since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether this crisis was going to imply a structural change in the demographic evolution of rural areas. This contribution analyzes the influence that the pandemic has had on the demographic dynamics of rural areas in Aragón, in a national context; specifically, in the evolution and distribution of the total population, and also of immigrants of foreign origin, including TCNs (foreigners from countries outside the EU). It analyzes how the pandemic has affected the evolution and distribution of these population groups by municipality size (rural, semi-rural and urban). Subsequently, attention will be paid to the evolution of some economic variables to understand how the pandemic has affected the foreign population group. For this, the statistical sources used are the Population Register and the Economically Active Population Survey (EPA) (INE). The results indicate that there has been no increase in registrations in the rural areas of Aragón and Spain, but there has been an increase in foreigners and also TCNs, although this statement can be qualified depending on the territories. Despite some growth of some groups in certain rural areas, results seems to indicate that the COVID-19 crisis has not led to a significant transformation in the face of the long-awaited “rural renaissance”.