Study title

Rural Finland 2023: Political Decision-Makers, Rural Development Specialists, the Media

Dataset ID Number

FSD4093

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4093
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4093

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

Abstract

The Rural Finland survey examines perceptions of the significance and future of rural areas in Finland. Commissioned by the Rural Policy Council and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, this dataset contains responses from public sector decision-makers, business decision-makers, media representatives, and rural experts concerning rural areas, their development needs, and issues related to livelihoods and entrepreneurship. The dataset forms part of a repeated study conducted at regular intervals among respondents drawn from the same target population. As the survey questions remain largely unchanged over time, the data enable longitudinal comparisons. The survey was available in Finnish and Swedish.

Initially, the respondents were asked what kinds of associations rural and urban areas evoked for them, whether they considered certain areas to be rural or not, and whether they saw themselves as urban or rural residents. Next, they were asked what rural areas meant to them at present and what they were likely to mean ten years from now. In addition, the survey examined what respondents hoped for the future of rural areas and, conversely, what they believed the future would bring for rural areas.

Finally, the survey explored respondents' views on the role of rural areas in the sustainability transition, statements concerning rural areas, rural development needs, and statements related to entrepreneurship and rural entrepreneurship. In addition, respondents assessed which rural policy measures could potentially be scaled back and how business opportunities in different sectors are likely to develop in rural areas.

The background variables collected from all respondents include respondent group, response language, year of birth, gender, level of education, occupational status, total gross household income, party preference in parliamentary elections, and native language.

In addition, respondent group-specific background information was collected from each group. Public sector decision-makers were asked how they had been selected for their position and at what territorial level they participated in decision-making. Rural experts were asked, among other things, in which sector they worked and at what territorial level they primarily exerted influence. Business decision-makers were asked about their sector of business, turnover in 2022, number of employees, and their position within the company. Media representatives were asked about their job role, the type of media organisation they represented, and the geographical area in which the media organisation operated.

Keywords

countryside; housing; internal migration; migration (human); quality of life; residential mobility; rural areas; rural development; rural economics; rural environment; rural planning; rural policy; rural-urban migration

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Agriculture and forestry (Fields of Science Classification)
• Housing (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Agriculture and rural industry (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Rural Finland

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Data Producers

• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland

Funders

• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland

Time Period Covered

2023

Collection Dates

2023-11-07 – 2023-11-27

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Business decision-makers (CEOs, development directors, CFOs and others in similar positions in industry, construction, trade and services), representatives of the media (editors-in-chief, news editors, regional journalists, managing editors, political journalists and journalists working in newspapers, television and radio), public-sector decision-makers (Members of Parliament, mayors and chairpersons of municipal and city councils, regional governors and members of regional councils, Members of the European Parliament, chairpersons of the councils and boards of wellbeing services counties, and wellbeing services county executive), and rural experts (experts, researchers, public officials and representatives of third-sector organisations whose work involves monitoring or dealing with rural issues).

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

Mixed probability and non-probability

Taloustutkimus compiled a sample of business decision-makers and representatives of the media. The target population of business decision-makers was drawn from the Profinder business register, after which a random sample was selected. The sample of media representatives was compiled using purposive sampling from various public sources. Business decision-makers and media representatives were surveyed using a web questionnaire preceded by telephone contact. The contact list for public sector decision-makers and rural experts was compiled by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) from public sources, the Finnish Food Authority, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland using purposive sampling. The survey was conducted using a web questionnaire.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD4091 Rural Finland 2023: Finnish-Speaking Finns

FSD4092 Rural Finland 2023: Swedish-Speaking Finns

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The respondents were not asked questionnaire items Q4-Q5 or T8-T12. In addition, questionnaire battery Q13 and items Q15e-Q15h were asked only of entrepreneurs.

The dataset was anonymised at the Finnish Social Science Data Archive by removing open-ended responses as well as the municipality and postal code variables. In addition, identifying variables outside the questionnaire were removed from the dataset, including variables describing, for example, the company's primary and secondary lines of business and legal form.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke): Rural Finland 2023: Political Decision-Makers, Rural Development Specialists, the Media [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2026-08-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4093; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4093

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Vihinen, H., Korhonen, K., Saukkonen, T., Voutilainen, O. ja Kaseva, J. 2024. Mitä mieltä maaseudusta? : Maaseutubarometri 2023. Luonnonvara- ja biotalouden tutkimus 79/2024. Luonnonvarakeskus. Helsinki. 151 s. Saatavissa https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-380-968-0.

Related Publications

Vihinen, H., Korhonen, K., Saukkonen, T., Voutilainen, O. & Kaseva, J. 2024. Mitä mieltä maaseudusta? : Maaseutubarometri 2023. Luonnonvara- ja biotalouden tutkimus 79/2024. Luonnonvarakeskus. Helsinki. 151 s.