Analysis of Trends in the Development of Rural Areas and the Agro-Industrial Complex in EU Countries and Ukraine

The aim of the article is to identify trends in the development of rural areas and the agro-industrial complex in EU countries and Ukraine. In view of this, the study analyzes: rate of rural population growth (loss) in EU countries and Ukraine; increase in the level of urbanization in EU countries and Ukraine; changes in the structure of the population of EU countries by the level of urbanization; changes in the ratio of urban and rural population in EU countries over time; employment rate in the EU;share of people employed in agriculture; share of agriculture, forestry and fish farming in the GDP of EU countries and Ukraine; distribution of EU countries by gross added value of agriculture; distribution of agricultural enterprises of EU countries by types of agricultural production; land use for growing crops in EU countries; structure of production by areas of agriculture in EU countries; cost structure of crop and livestock production in EU countries; structure of agricultural enterprises (farms) in EU countries by the amount of land used.Based on the results of the analysis, it is found that, in general, rural areas and the agricultural sector of more developed EU countries are characterized by problems of population aging, environmental problems of land and water resources, and uneven development across their regions. For the countries that joined the EU in 2004-2007, the problems of rural areas are associated with the underdeveloped infrastructure(including the service sector), population aging, large number of very small farms that need assistance, and outflow of labor force from rural areas, etc.It is determined that the problemscommon for EU countries and Ukraine are depopulation and population aging; depopulation in remote areas; unsatisfactory condition of the basic infrastructure; low competitiveness of very small agricultural producers; small number of young farmers; as a rule, low qualificationsof the labor force and poor provision with equipment of very small and small farms; significant environmental impact.