Results
Population
The mean population of rural municipalities along the trail is higher than that of neighboring rural municipalities (1,925 people versus 1,342 people). Mean population of urban municipalities on and near the trail is 115,930 people. Age The trail attracts a slightly younger population than neighboring rural municipalities. On the trail, there is a higher percentage of young people (< 16) and adults (16 to 64), 14% and 64%, respectively, and a slightly lower percentage of seniors (> 64), 20%. This is opposed to the 23% of seniors, 63% of adults, and 13% of young people in rural communities off the trail. Gender While urban municipalities have a higher percentage of women to men (52% women to 48% men), rural municipalities both on and around the trail have lower (and more equal) ratios of women to men (50.5% women to 49.5% men). |
Unemployment
There are lower numbers of unemployed people in provinces along the trail, though this extends to most of Northern Spain and may not have any correlation with tourism associated with the Camino. |
Discussion
By comparing only rural communities along the trail with rural communities set apart from the trail, analyses can be made about how Spanish communities have been influenced solely from tourism associated with the Camino de Santiago. As the above results show, rural municipalities along the trail are on average more populated than that of rural municipalities off the trail. The mean population is still much lower than that of urban municipalities, but high enough to conclude that the trial increases the economic capacity of rural communities. Age is also a factor that has been impacted by the Camino, though only slightly. Municipalities along the Camino attract more adults and younger people versus seniors, likely due to the fact that they are still working and building families as opposed to retiring. There does not seem to be a difference in gender percentages on or off the trail. The ratio between men and women in rural communities on the Camino is almost identical to what it is off the trail.
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Source: Instituto Nacional Estadistico (www.ine.es)