The Changing Youth Population

‘Youth out-migration’ is commonly perceived as a problem for rural areas, contributing to declining demographic and economic conditions. This chapter explores the history of youth out-migration in northern Sweden, showing that it is a long-term persistent phenomenon, and that there are only very weak relationships between levels of youth out-migration and demographic and economic performance. Furthermore, in very recent times there has been a large influx of youth into the rural north, and the majority of youth born in the north do not leave. Comparisons with Iceland suggest that it is not youth who drive demographic change, but older adults.