Defra maintains a wealth of Rural Evidence for policy makers — the people on the ground who are delivering rural strategy — and anyone else with an interest in rural economies and communities.

To produce its rural statistics, Defra takes data from across Government and from other sources and applies a rural definition to show the differences between different types of rural and urban areas.

On these pages you can find:

• What do we mean by ‘rural’?
• Resources
• Statistics about living in rural areas
• Statistics about the rural economy
• Statistics about the English Uplands
• Publications

The Statistical Digest of Rural England, a collection of statistics on a range of social and economic policy areas, was published in May 2011 and some chapters were updated in September 2011 and February 2012.

You can email Defra’s Rural Statistics Unit or telephone us on 01904 455251.