Journal of Youth Studies special issue Youth, Rural Places and Marginalisation

03.02.2025

To envison a life in sparsely populated regions is more than "staying put" - Funore-study challenges stereotypic perceptions of rural youth life.

Young people living in rural areas are being pressured to move away for education and work, both in the Nordic countries and in Europe more widely. Cities are typically also seen as culturally attractive environments for young people, while rural areas are associated in many countries with negative images of misery. But what happens to those young people who choose to stay? A Nordic research project The Future of Nordic Youth in Rural Regions offers a new perspective on the lives of young people living in rural and sparsely populated areas.


Rural youth research has traditionally focused on rural out-migration. However, the new study turns the spotlight on the experiences of young people who live their daily lives in rural areas and build their future there. A comprehensive follow-up study shows that the decision to stay in rural areas is not just a passive decision to stay put.

The Future of Nordic Youth in Rural Regions followed young people and their experiences in rural areas in four Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Family ties and community draw back to the home regions

The Finnish sub-study showed that the decision to build a future in rural areas often requires young people to be active. Building a future is a long process, influenced by many factors. Alongside education and employment opportunities, the study highlights the importance of family ties and intergenerational relationships in determining why young people choose to stay in sparsely populated areas.

"Girls who have grown up in Sámi homeland in particular have emphasised the importance of culture, language and community. Even if they move to big cities to study, many of them are planning to return to their homeland. Studies are often seen as an intermediate stage of youth, and even though people enjoy the cities, the idea of starting a family close to relatives and their own community seems important," says Helena Ristaniemi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä.

The Finnish study is based on several years of follow-up of young adults from three sparsely populated areas in Central and Eastern Finland and the northern Sámi region.

In the lives of many young people both rural and urban spheres are present at the same time

The study highlights the diversity of rural areas and challenges the rural-urban dichotomy. In the lives of many young people, both environments are present at the same time. For example the Swedish sub-study, which is based on a nearly ten-year follow-up of Northern Swedish young people shows how mobile the rural young people and young adults are. Many are mobile in order to be able to build their future in rural settings. In their article, Swedish researchers Maria Rönnlund and Aina Tollefsen show that flexibility and the ability to move and adapt plans according to the changing labour market opened up opportunities for young people to build a future in rural areas.

Green transition creates career opportunities also in sparsely populated areas

Sparsely populated areas vary within the Nordic countries. Although in many areas employment opportunities for young people are scarce, this is not always the case. For example in Northern Sweden the green transition has created economic growth and changed the labour market considerably.

"However, the green transition is also a concern for many young people, for example in the Sámi homeland. The Green transition is associated with a lot of uncertainty, challenges and even human rights violations, as the recently published joint report by the Sámi Council and Amnesty shows. In our study we have explored future visons by young people living in diverse rural areas. For example in northern Sweden and northern Finland young people perceived the mining industry as a significant source of employment and vitality in the regions, but they also identified risks and concerns. So there is a strong contradiction here, which would be important to explore further," says Helena Ristaniemi.

The findings of the follow-up study have been published in a special issue of the Journal of Youth Studies, Youth, Rural Places and Marginalisation. All articles are available in openly-accessible form:

Picture: Young people on a snowy road in Äkäslompolo, Finland. Volker von Bonin. The Finnish Heritage Agency.


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