While the term "rural" is contextual, it generally refers to a relatively low population density, a land-based economy (particularly agricultural), and a distinct regional identity.
[2] However, the United Nations predicts that this number will shrink in the coming years; projecting that 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050.
[3] Rural areas may lack diversity in demographics like religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health, socioeconomic status, physical ability, or other socially significant identifiers.
However, some researchers have suggested that trends indicate the distinction between urban and rural diversity, in terms of community ethnoracial composition, has become less clear.
Research on the subject tends to focus on highlighting previously ignored non-white rural communities and formerly all-white regions that are now diversifying due to Hispanic immigration.
In rural areas in the Southeast, West, and Southwest U.S., there are significant populations of African-Americans, Hispanic people, and Native Americans.
54% of Native Americans live in rural areas, a much higher percentage of the population than for other racial and ethnic groups.
A lack of public transportation in most rural areas creates an additional barrier for people with disabilities to be integrated into their communities.
Socioeconomic variables are believed to be one of the main contributing factors as to why mortality rates are higher in rural settings.
[18] The main causes for this disparity is socioeconomic deprivation, higher rates of uninsured persons, and a lack of and access to primary care physicians.
Jobs in the service industry, education, healthcare, and construction also employ large sections of the rural workforce.
The popular film, Brokeback Mountain, made in 2005 featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, portrays a rural America centered around a white community.
The main two characters, played by Ledger and Gyllenhaal have a secret love affair-unable to come out as gay to their community.
[24] The 1960s and 1970s sitcom, The Beverly Hillbillies, depicted a poor, white family from the Ozark Mountains that suddenly made a lot of money after finding oil on their land.
There are many rural Native American poets, including Tommy Pico,[27] Joy Harjo, and Layli Long Soldier.
Affrilachian art is a term that encompasses poetry, fiction, music, and film created by communities of African American Appalachians.