engleski

RURAL AREAS’ DIGITAL COMPETITIVENESS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The depopulation of rural areas due to the impossibility of employment and earning in urban areas has led to a significant imbalance in which urban areas have become overcrowded and rural areas devastated. The European Union has recognized such a direction as unsustainable and has decided to dedicate itself to the development of rural areas. In this paper, particular emphasis is placed on the development through a digital transformation of the community by improving the infrastructure and the digital skills of the population from rural areas. In this paper, using Eurostat and Eurobarometer data, the au- thors compare digital infrastructures and skills by different sociodemographic characteristics in Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, and Ireland with an average of 27 EU member states. Based on this compari- son, an analysis of the Republic of Croatia’s digital competitiveness with EU countries in the region and demographically similar countries was conducted to specify which advantages to emphasize further and which shortcomings to correct. This paper aims to indicate which countries should be a benchmark for Croatia in the digital transformation of rural areas and whom to encourage to be the bearers of change in smart rural communities.

digital competitiveness, rural development, digitalization, demo- graphic revitalization

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