7. Accommodation and household technology in rural families
The size of rural dwellings and the number of rooms can be considered satisfactory, but the level of household technology is not very high compared to Austria, Ireland and Finland.
The level of household technology and equipment was usually estimated by the focal informants; statistical information comes only from a few of the project countries. Although the data consists of estimates, some features should be mentioned: the kitchen appliance missing from almost all rural households in the project countries is the dishwasher; the telephone is quite rare in all the countries (often the estimate is about 10 percent of farm households); and freezers and automatic washing machines are also rare. On the other hand, the private car is becoming more and more common (most estimates vary from 30 percent to 50 percent of farm households); and the refrigerator, radio and television are common in most rural families.
Some countries have statistical information on household technology in rural areas. For instance, in Slovakia, the following figures are given: washing machine 22.4 percent; television 38.9 percent; telephone 15.7 percent; and car 36.4 percent.
