| Summary: | Since the 1960s the literature on demography of rural northern Sweden has focussed on 'decline' - noting loss of population, population ageing, yourth outmigration and other 'negative' demographic developments (Friedlander, 1969; Hjort, 2009; Stone 1971); recent studies suggest that such generalizations may overlook the diversity of experiences of rural areas (D. Carson and Koch, 2013; Cernic-Maly, Koch and Koch, 2014; Hedlund, 2014; Hoggart and Paniagua, 2001; Koch and Carson, 2012). The purpose of this thesis is to explore aspets of the diversity of experiences of demographic change in one part of rural northern Sweden, focusing on differences between villages and towns within a single municipality. Theoretically, the large body of scientific studies of 'rural' tend to be at macro-scale and from the 'urban' perspective, which might provide generalized and biased assumptions of 'rural'; this study may contribute to the understanding of 'rural' by describing it 'how it really is' and by looking into demographic diversity and change at the micro-scale. Practically, the thesis might assist local planners to take 'place-based' decisions when planning for the future of rural areas when deciding where to place schools, health centres, youth activities centres, playgrounds, or invest in economic opportunities, etc. Moreover, this thesis should answer the following research questions:Â Q1: Is there diversity in demographic characteristics when comparing proximate locations in the Swedish rural setting? Q2: If there is, is it something that has recently emerged, or sothing that has been present for a long period of history? The thesis studied the case of Vilhelmina municipality, in this case defined by local government boundaries, in three stages: first, looked at how settlement patterns within the area have changed over time - where has there been population growth? Decline? Both? Neither? - using data from 1890, 1970 and 2015. Second, selected five individual locations (defined by village' borders) within the area ...
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