Rural Britain is expected to out-perform cities in terms of business start-ups and productivity, leading to an expected increase in property values.
According to government projections the brain-drain of people leaving the countryside to live in the cities is actually reversing.
The Office for National Statistics has said that, by 2025, the population of rural Britain will have grown by 500,000 to more than 10m as more people forsake city living for a place in the country.
In 2012 net migration to the countryside was at 40,000, and set to grow by 6% annually.
Environment secretary Liz Truss has said that rural areas will likely lead the way for new business start-ups, as lower costs and more flexible working practices are made possible by the roll-out of superheats broadband.
Just over a quarter of all businesses – around 486,000 – are in the countryside and more people start businesses in the country than in major towns, with the exception of cities such as London, according to the report, which notes that current productivity in rural areas is 83% that of urban areas.
