(9The information included in the Country Profiles comes from the data provided by the Focal Informants. Both the information given in the questionnaire and the separate descriptions are used. The statistical data is primarily for the years 1990 and 1991, with some data from 1992 and 1995. Descriptive data comes from the year 1994. Subjective opinions in some cases are possible. Research data was used wherever possible.)
The Republic of Estonia (45 227 km2) is the northernmost of the Baltic countries and has 1.6 million inhabitants, of whom 64 percent are Estonian. In terms of religion, most are Lutheran. Population density is 34 persons/km2. Independence of the country was restored in 1991. The political system in Estonia remains unstable, as the country is currently experiencing the social and political changes accompanied by democratization, privatization and globalization. GNP part of the farmer USSR per caput in 1993 was US$ 3 040.
Of the 449 000 people (30 percent of the total population) living in the countryside, 233 000 are women (52 percent of the rural population). The women working in paid employment in rural areas are employed as teachers, medical doctors, nurses, shop-assistants or secretaries. Although migration is low, unemployment in rural areas is high, and more women than men migrate from rural areas. Women migrating from rural areas tend to be young, unmarried and well-educated.
The proportion of the population involved in agriculture is 10 percent, and agricultural production accounts for 17 percent of GDP. The number of private farms is increasing and is now about 10 000, while the average farm size is 25.4 ha. There are no state farms left, and instead there are companies and joint-stock firms, which have rented land from the state. There are still 360 cooperative farms in the country. Big dairies and slaughterhouses are still owned by the state. In private agriculture it is common for a husband and wife to own the farm together, but sometimes a woman alone owns the family farm; the proportion of family farms managed by women is about 15 percent. Labour on private farms is divided in a mixture of modern and traditional ways -- decision-making and work in the cowshed are done together, but household work and child care is mainly carried out by women.
The average family size in rural areas is 4.2 people, and the average number of children in rural families is 2.0. The average marrying age in rural areas is 26 years for men and 25 years for women. The divorce rate in rural areas was 4.3/1 000 in 1992.
There are 13 agricultural schools in rural areas as well as schools in home economics and rural entrepreneurship. Adult education and training have also been organized. Rural organizations (education, training, extension, interest groups, etc.) are developing quite rapidly, and rural women have good access to extension services in agriculture and home economics, yet not to more comprehensive rural development or training in village activity, environmental problems or rural entrepreneurship. The Farmers' Union has activities especially for women.
There is a perceived need for rural women to be instructed in new agricultural technologies, home economics and family psychology, starting a business, making a business plan, accounting and loan procedures. Adult training in a market economy, new agricultural technologies and entrepreneurship are also needed.
The state organized a high level of health care and social services and the availability of social benefits is good. Some retired people have problems with nutrition, however, and cannot afford to buy adequate food. There are also problems with communications, as there is a lack of telephones in rural areas and distances are long.
The greatest problems facing rural women in Estonia are unemployment, social problems such as alcoholism in the family, malnutrition, a low level of education, long distances, lack of telephones and lack of knowledge about entrepreneurship. There is a need for training in the use of new technology in agriculture, in psychology of the family, in business planning, in accounting, in financing and in entrepreneurial organizations. More specialized interest in rural women's issues is needed.
The Republic of Latvia is one of the three Baltic countries and has a territory of 64 610 km2 and 2.6 million inhabitants, of whom only 53.5 percent are Latvian and 35 percent are Russian. The main religion is Lutheranism. The independence of Latvia was restored in 1991. Latvia is now an urbanized country, the rural population of 778 000 (of whom 55 percent work in agriculture) represents 31 percent of the total population. Traditionally, the difference between the agricultural and the rural population has been small, as most rural residents were employed in the agricultural sector. Latvia is seeking the economic and social model most suitable for the nation. GNP per caput in 1993 was US$ 2 030.
Of the total rural population, 53 percent are women. The agricultural population accounts for 16 percent of the total (industry 41 percent), while agricultural production accounts for about 25 percent of GDP. There are 53 000 private farms (half of all cultivated land) and the average farm size is 16.5 ha. The main products are milk, pork, beef, potatoes, grain, sugar beet, vegetables and flax. The greatest problems in agriculture are shortage of technical equipment and credit. Land reform and the reorganization of economic relations and agricultural management are currently underway, and Latvia is privatizing it's agriculture.
Rural women working in paid employment are employed in factories, handicrafts, education, health care, public services and cattle breeding. Rural women in the agricultural sector are working on private farms or on cooperative and state farms, although they have often been the first to lose their jobs. On private farms, women have a heavy workload in nonmechanized activities and little free time. It is typical for private farms to be owned by men and for both the husband and the wife to work on them. Many farm activities are done together, but household work and child care are strictly women's responsibilities. Rural entrepreneurship on private farms has started. Traditionally, the prestige of landowners and farmers was high, yet during the transition period, it has decreased as a result of the shortage of money and machines in private agriculture. Young, unmarried and well-educated women tend to migrate from rural areas to cities.
The family size in rural areas is 3.2 people, and the average number of children in rural families is 1.9. The divorce rate is relatively high at 4.0/1 000 in 1990.
The educational level of rural people (both women and men) is lower than that of the urban population. There are schools of agriculture and farming, but none for home economics. Some adult education and training are available, but training in home economics, finance and entrepreneurship is particularly needed. There are extension and advisory services in agronomy, forestry, bookkeeping, animal breeding, building and machinery, but Latvian rural women have no extension or advisory services in home management or home economics, and only a few in agrotourism, rural entrepreneurship and rural development.
There is a farmers' union in the country and women's membership is possible. The farmers' union has activities specifically for women, but village activities are unknown and there are no village boards in Latvia.
There are many deficiencies in social services in rural areas; there are no maternity clinics and there is no maternity leave for women farmers. Telephones are rare and there are also problems of nutrition. The opinion of the Focal Informants is that changes in the social and political structure have led to the destruction of the national health care system for the rural population.
In regards to women's legal status, Latvian women and men are equal, but traditional inequality can be seen in society; few women work in the upper echelons of administration, and the proportion of women in parliament is only 12 percent, while more women than men are unemployed. Women have a higher level of education than men, but have lower posts in society.
The greatest problems of Latvian rural women are economic and social -- many face the choice between hard manual work or unemployment.
The most urgent needs for rural women in Latvia are employment, education, training and advisory services, especially in home economics, home management and new job openings. There are inequalities between the sexes, one example being in the amount of free time which men have while women do all the household work.
The Republic of Lithuania is the southernmost of the three Baltic countries and has a territory of 65 301 km2 and 3.7 million inhabitants. The majority (79.6 percent) of the population are Lithuanian, the remainder being Russian and Polish. The majority of the population are Roman Catholic. Lithuania became part of the former USSR after the Second World War, but was the first to give a declaration of the restoration of independence in 1990. The greatest problems the country is facing are economic and social: there is an economic recession in the country; the country has lost its eastern markets for agricultural and industrial products; the standard of living has declined after the political changes; and the crime rate is high. GNP per caput was US$ 1 310 in 1993.
Over 1 million Lithuanians live in rural areas (32 percent of the population). 17.5 percent of the population work in agriculture and the proportion of agriculture in GDP is 27 percent. The main line of production in agriculture is animal husbandry. The number of private farmers is increasing, as both restitution of the property of former owners and the privatization of the land property of state and collective farms is underway. In 1993 there were 111 000 private farms with an average size of 8.8 ha and 5 900 private farmers. In addition, there are 404 000 private subsidiary plots with an average size of 2-3 ha and 121 000 plot owners, while there are 209 000 shareholders in cooperative farms. The main problems in rural areas are related to the current agrarian reform; people are motivated to start private farming, but they do not have enough resources. Rural people have also lost many of the social and communal services maintained by big state and collective farms.
The proportion of women in the total labour force is high at 48 percent. However, forms of occupational sex segregation can be seen. In rural areas women are mainly involved in unskilled work in the fields, cowsheds, pig or poultry farms, or in social services. A special problem in rural areas is that the privatization of state and collective farms has led to the loss of the social services they supplied. If kindergartens are closed, it is difficult for women to have paid employment outside the home. In 1992, the birth rate in Lithuania was 14.3/1 000. The infant mortality rate in rural areas has been increasing over the last few years, going from 15.811 000 in 1991 to 17.4/1 000 in 1992. The average family size in rural areas was 3.2 percent in 1989. The divorce rate was 4.1/1 000 in 1991.
There is a great difference in the age structure of men and women in rural areas; in the oldest age group (over 65 years) there are many more women than men. The level of education is far lower in rural than in urban areas, and the educational level of rural women is lower than that of rural men. Although there is now more migration from cities to rural areas than vice versa, young and unmarried women have a tendency to move from rural areas to cities.
Now that private farming is possible, it is usual for husband and wife to own the family farm jointly and to work on it together. It is typical for women to work on family farms, but rural women may also have full-time or seasonal work in agricultural companies. On family farms, both spouses work in the cowshed, but women do more household work and child care than do men.
There are vocational schools and colleges of agriculture for both boys and girls, and there is also some education in home economics and handicrafts in vocational schools. In winter there are some adult education and training courses organized in agricultural schools and colleges. However, rural women need adult education and training in farm management, economics and in home economics.
There are agricultural extension services in Lithuania in marketing and distribution of products, processing products, management of private farms and technology. There are also various advisory organizations in agriculture, but there are no extension organizations in home management, home economics or consumer education.
The national health care system for rural people is deficient. There are no district hospitals, child health centres, maternity clinics or pharmacies in rural areas.
There are different interest groups for the farming population; the Farmers' Union, the Women Farmers' Association, the Union of Peasants and the Union of Young Farmers. However, men are more active in political and public life than women; local governments are primarily occupied by men, and the proportion of women in parliament is only 8 percent. The newly formed Association of Women Farmers is a promising development in rural Lithuania.
The greatest problems for rural women are economic and caused by unemployment or a heavy work load. Other problems are the lack of district hospitals, maternity clinics and pharmacies in rural areas and the fact that transportation costs to regional centres are high. It is also problematic that there are no extension services in home economics, home management or in new job opportunities such as rural entrepreneurship or agrotourism. In addition, discrimination against women in employment persists. The transition period in society has been particularly difficult for women because of the threat of unemployment and the diminishing social services (such as kindergartens).
The primary needs of Lithuanian rural women are the creation of jobs in nonagricultural activities in rural areas, the organization of national health care services in rural areas, education, and the revival of social and cultural services.
Poland is the largest of the project countries with a territory of 312 683 km2 and a population of 38.4 million. The rural population is 14.7 million (38 percent of the total). Poland is dominated by one nationality, one language and one religion (Catholicism). The main problems of Poland are economic, but also political. Unemployment, instability of the political system and poor infrastructure are problems. Unemployment of women was 51 percent in 1990 and 53 percent in 1995 (E. Dec. 1995). The productivity of the national economy is low -- the GNP per caput was US$ 2 270 in 1993.
Poland has always had a system of predominantly peasant farms; the number of private farms is now 2.1 million with an average size of 7.1 ha. In 1991, the total number of private farmers was 3.6 million, of whom 1.8 million were women. The proportion of people working in agriculture is 29 percent, while the proportion of agricultural production in GDP is 6.5 percent (industry 52 percent). There are 7.3 million women living in rural areas (50 percent of the total rural population); 2.3 million women are economically active in agriculture, and 91 percent of the women working in agriculture work on private farms, the rest on state and cooperative farms (K. Gutkowska and K. Zelazna, 1993).
Rural women not employed in agriculture work in services and small industries; it is rare for either the wife or the husband to have entrepreneurial activities on the farm. One in five private farms is operated by women. The farms operated by women fall into three categories: women whose husband and sons work outside the farm; women running the farm after the death or disability of male household members; and young professionally skilled women managers. Of the female-headed farms, 10 percent are one-person farms and one in four women farmers has reached personable age. Farms owned by women are smaller than the average.
In farming families women are often responsible for the household and family life, and even for farm production (E. Dec. 1995). The division of labour in farming families is traditional and has patriarchal features; men take care of mechanical fieldwork, women do the household work, work with cows and take care of children. The average family size in rural areas is 3.5 and in farming families 3.9 persons. The average number of children in rural families is 1.6. Rural households do not have all the modern amenities; they seldom have piped hot water, a dishwasher or a telephone. However, the washing machine, the refrigerator and television are common in rural households. There is a significant predominance of women from the older age groups in rural areas. For instance, in the age group over 70 years, there are 134 women for every 100 men.
The educational level of rural people is much lower than that of urban people, while the educational level of rural women is slightly higher than that of rural men. In the 1960s more men than women migrated from rural areas, yet at present more women (young and educated) than men are migrating. Because unemployment is increasing in urban areas, part-time farmers, however, are returning to their farms. Some 35 percent of the rural population work outside agriculture. Unemployment in rural areas is lower than in the cities, but it is still relatively high; in 1993 it was 10.8 percent in rural areas (13.7 percent in the whole country) and 12.5 percent for rural women (15.2 percent women in the whole country).
There are agricultural schools, schools of agricultural technology and agricultural universities in Poland. In some schools specialization in home economics is possible. Adult education is not well developed, and rural women have educational needs in husbandry, horticulture, home economics, food processing and nutrition, small business management, accounting and budgeting. There are extension services in Poland in agriculture, home economics and agricultural economics. However, there are no extension workers in environmental issues, agrotourism or rural entrepreneurship. Agricultural Extension Centers have organized business training programmes in rural tourism.
There are many organizations for rural people, including the Farmers' Union, the Village Housewives' Organization and the Agricultural Chambers. These organizations have special activities for women, but more men than women participate in public life and organizations. Village boards, municipal boards, cooperative boards, and local and national government bodies are occupied primarily by men.
The main problems in rural areas are low income levels, difficult access to credit for women, unemployment, lack of services, and a low level of infrastructure, such as a lack of telephones. Moreover, social security services and benefits are lower in agriculture, there are no support services for children or elderly people in rural areas, there is no maternity leave for women farmers, there are few recreational and cultural activities in rural areas, the working days (especially on private farms) are long, and the health of rural women is poor. Women's participation in decision-making in political, economic and social life is low. One of the main problems in Polish agriculture is the migration of young women from rural areas and the young male farmer's difficulty in finding a wife. Another problem is the lack of mechanization in agriculture. Formally men and women are equal in society, but women do not have equal access to the privatization process that is going on.
Agriculture can no longer absorb the increasing numbers of unemployed people and small-scale entrepreneurship needs to be developed. The most urgent needs of rural women in Poland are a better rural infrastructure, more and better services and a better social security system. Adult education and training, positive rural role models, and women's increased self-esteem and greater political participation are also needed.
The Czech Republic, together with Slovakia, is one of the youngest independent democracies in Europe, born in 1993. There are 10.3 million inhabitants living in the Czech Republic, the majority of them Czechs, Moravians and Silesians, of whom 39 percent belong to the Roman Catholic Church and an equal number have no religious affiliation. The Czech Republic is an industrialized society and the share of manufacturing industry in GNP is over 60 percent. A typical feature of the society is that 30 percent of the economically active population are internal migrants. The proportion of women in the labour force is relatively high at 47.6 percent. In 1993, GNP per caput was US$ 2 730, while the unemployment rate was low at only 3.9 percent for both the country as a whole as well as in rural areas. The main problems of the country are caused by the transition to a market economy as well as ecological problems in industrial areas.
The proportion of the labour force engaged in agriculture is only 8.1 percent, while agricultural production accounts for 5.6 percent of the GDP. Highly intensive land cultivation is typical of Czech agriculture. All possible forms of landownership can be found; half of the land is owned by cooperative farms (in 1 298 cooperatives), one-quarter by private farms (about 47 000 farms) and about one-tenth by state farms (173 state farms). A process of privatization including the return and restitution of property, the denationalization of state property and the transformation of cooperatives -- is on-going.
2.6 million people (25 percent of the population) live in rural areas, half of whom are women. There are wide variations in the age structure of rural women and men. In the active age group there are more men than women in rural areas, but in the older age groups there is a majority of women. There are only 207 000 men over 65 years in rural areas, as against 375 000 women. The educational level of the rural population is lower than that of urban residents, and the educational level of men is higher than that of women in both rural and urban settings. Migration from rural areas to urban areas is higher than vice versa, and more women than men are migrating. The average age of marriage for rural men is 22 years, and for rural women 18 years.
Rural women working in sectors other than agriculture tend to work full time. Women working on the farm are seldomly engaged in entrepreneurial activities. On family farms men make the decisions, men and women work with the animals and women work in the household. The telephone is still rare in rural households, but half of the families have a car of their own. Rural people have heavy meals and guidance on better nutrition is needed. The national health care system functions in rural areas and the level of social services and social benefits is high. Special problems in rural areas are the scant provision of shops, services and cultural activities.
There are vocational schools, secondary level institutes and agricultural universities in the Czech Republic. The proportion of girls in agricultural schools is more than half, on the secondary level 44 percent and in the agricultural universities 37 percent. Many kinds of adult education services are available to rural people.
The main educational needs of rural women are in healthy nutrition, the legal and tax system, entrepreneurship, accounting, bookkeeping, using computers and psychological and sociological knowledge. There are no special extension services in home economics or home management in the country.
There are many organizations for rural and agricultural people (the Union of Agricultural Entrepreneurs, the Union of Land Owners, the Union of Cooperative Workers and the Agrarian Chamber), but women do not actively participate.
The main problems of rural areas are depopulation, few and decreasing services, and the lack of cultural activities. A special problem for rural women is a heavy work load, lack of free time and inequality in leisure compared to men. There are no extension or advisory services in home economics for rural or farming families. A special problem in rural areas, as well as for the country as a whole, is women's low participation in politics and public life.
The priority needs of rural women are a better service network, increased activity in public life and organizations, and education and training in home economics.
Slovakia was also born in 1993, and has a territory of 49 036 km2 and 5.3 million inhabitants, of whom the majority are Slovakian (85.7 percent). Like most young democracies, Slovakia is politically unstable and unemployment is a problem (at 14.4 percent 1993), especially in remote rural areas. GNP per caput in 1993 was US$ 1 930 and inflation is high (24 percent in 1993 and 12 percent in 1994). Slovakia is, however, a predominantly industrial rather than agricultural society.
There are 2.3 million people (44 percent of the population) living in rural areas. Unemployment in rural areas has increased and caused serious problems in particular areas, because heavy industry has decreased and agricultural production is in a transition phase. There are differences among rural areas; "central villages" have a better infrastructure, including provision of services, than other rural areas.
The agricultural labour force is no more than 9.7 percent of the economically active population. The characteristic feature of Slovakian agriculture is a high degree of concentration, outdated machinery, and a high consumption of materials and energy. By the end of 1993, there were 1 004 cooperative farms with an average size of 1 790 ha, 17 630 private farms with an average size of 10 ha, and 135 state farms with an average size of 1 243 ha. Most of the agricultural labour force work on cooperative farms. The number of agricultural workers in 1994 was estimated at 264 000, of whom approximately 80 000 were women.
Altogether there are 1 174 000 women living in rural areas. Full-time work is common for rural women when they are employed. Most often rural women in paid employment are agricultural workers or employed in administration. The wage level of women in agriculture is lower than that of men and lower than that of women in other sectors of the economy in rural areas, but higher than that of urban women. The proportion of women in the labour force has always been high in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In Slovakia, the proportion was 46 percent in 1991 (in the Czech Republic it was 47.6 percent). However, inside the family the division of labour is traditional; in spite of paid employment outside the home, women take care of household work. The level of household technology is not very high; freezers, washing machines, dishwashers and telephones are rare in rural households. In addition, the diets are unhealthy.
The age structure of men differs from that of women in rural areas; men constitute the majority in the active age group (15 to 64 years), and women in the older age group (over 65 years). The educational level of rural women is lower than that of rural men. More women than men migrate from rural areas to cities. The average family size in rural areas is 3.6 people and the estimated average number of children in rural families is two. The average marrying age of men in rural areas is 24.2 years, and 21.3 years for women.
As well as an agricultural university, Slovakia has many agricultural schools and secondary level schools of agriculture. Adult education for rural people is organized by the agricultural university and the forestry university of the country. Adult training for rural women is needed in home economics, nutrition, farm management and small business entrepreneurship.
There are agricultural extension services in legislation, finance, taxation, trade, marketing and management of enterprises, but none in home economics or home management.
There are many active farmers' interest groups, and occasionally women hold important positions on village and municipal boards.
The main problems of rural women are unemployment or the double workload that results from the traditional division of labour inside the family, the lack of extension services, the lack of knowledge about home economics and nutrition, and the shortage of voluntary women's associations.
The most urgent needs of rural women are an improvement in the general level of education and knowledge in home economics.
Hungary has a territory of 93 000 km2 and about 10 million inhabitants. In addition, there are 3.5 million Hungarians living outside the borders. Hungary has also experienced great social and political changes since the collapse of the former USSR. The most important problems of the country are economic and social; a budget deficit, unemployment (at 12 percent, in 1994) and difficulties in establishing a market economy. GNP per caput in 1993 was higher than in many other CEE countries at US$ 3 400.
Rural areas vary across the parts of the country. Geographically, four areas can be distinguished: the central region, which is the most urban area around Budapest; the Great Hungarian Plain, the most agricultural area; Northern Hungary, suffering from the collapse of the former USSR for heavy industry located in the area; and Transdanubia, the most developed area of the country with foreign investments and a low level of unemployment.
Some 16 percent of the total population work in agriculture. The proportion of women in the agricultural labour force is 38 percent. The climate and soil conditions in Hungary are excellent for agricultural production. Before privatization and the restoration of land property only 7 percent of the land was in private ownership; 72 percent was held by cooperatives and 21 percent by state farms. At present, 40 to 50 percent of the land is private. There are approximately 120 000 private farms with an average of 15 ha and about 90 000 full-time farmers. There are 1 600 cooperative farms (average size 2 000 ha) and about 150 state farms. The number of agricultural workers is 467 000. In addition, about half of all Hungarians own a household plot. The majority of private farmers are part-time farmers, while cooperatives are characterized by full-time employment.
About 4 million people (38 percent of the population) live in rural villages; 51 percent of them are women. Villages near towns and holiday resorts have more opportunities than remote areas. Rural women work in the household, on cooperative farms and in administrative, commercial and unskilled work in the state sector and in agricultural support work on family farms (L. Kulcsár, 1995). In the former socialist system, women were almost fully employed or they experienced hidden unemployment, while women now suffer from serious unemployment. Rural women have lost work especially in agricultural cooperatives, state farms, local industries and local government institutes such as kindergartens, schools and services (L. Kulcsár, 1995). Unemployment in Hungary is basically a rural problem; 60 percent of all the unemployed people live in rural areas (L. Kulcsár, 1995). Rural women have always commuted less than men, but the local jobs have always offered them lower wages. Rural entrepreneurship is slowly increasing.
About 15 to 20 percent of family farms are managed by women who are widows or divorced. The wage level of women working in agriculture is lower than that of men, of women in other sectors in rural areas, and of urban women. Village women try to produce a significant proportion of the food (vegetables, fruits, poultry and even pigs) for family consumption on the household plots.
On family farms the division of labour is gender-segregated; almost all work is either mainly men's work (such as fieldwork, farm management, tending horses and sheep, decision-making in farming and marketing the products) or women's work (such as milking cows, tending the cattle, pigs and poultry, processing agricultural products, household work and decision-making in the household, infant and child care and work in the garden).
The educational level of rural women is slightly higher than that of rural men. However, there is some illiteracy both in rural and in urban areas. Migration from rural areas to cities and towns is slightly lower than vice versa, but men and women migrate in more or less equal numbers. The average family size in rural areas is 2.9 people, and in farming families about four, while the average number of children in rural families is about one per family. The average marrying age for rural men is 24 years, and for rural women 21 years.
There are agricultural schools and there have also been schools of home economics in Hungary. For adults, there are some short courses organized by county level job centres. The perceived educational needs of rural women are in home management, nutrition, entrepreneurship, financing and leadership. Adult training in long-term planning is needed. There are not yet any extension services in private farming or home economics. Problem points in household technology include a lack of telephones.
There are deficiencies in the national health care system as well. There are no district hospitals, health centres, maternity clinics or private clinics in rural areas, and there is no organized family planning for rural families. There are no employment services nor national pensions for rural people. Women hardly participate in political life or local decision-making, and only 7 percent of the members in the first freely elected parliament were women. On the other hand, the farmers' union is very active and women's membership is possible.
The main problems of rural women in Hungary are unemployment, a low level of education and social security, social and economic inequality, low level of participation in local decision-making, a lack of knowledge in home economics and a lack of self-confidence.
The priority needs are for adult education, training and extension services and non-governmental organizations for rural women wishing to enter local politics.
Slovenia was the first of the new independent countries born from Yugoslavia in 1991. It has an area of 20 256 km2 and about 2 million inhabitants, of whom 88 percent are Slovenian, most of them Catholic. The political system of Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy. A multiparty democracy has, however, still to be developed and managerial skills for a market economy acquired.
Half of the population live in rural areas. There are 552 300 rural women and 525 300 rural men. The ratio between the rural and the urban population has been fairly stable since 1988 as a result of migration from the countryside coming to an end and a stagnation in the move of city residents to suburban settlements. Most of the Slovenian countryside has a fair level of basic communications and services. The main problems in rural areas are related to low incomes in agriculture (farms are small, the average size is 5.9 ha) and the lack of other income-earning opportunities. The lower the income, the less developed the infrastructure. Rural tourism seems to be the economic activity through which natural resources, cultural heritage and local food can be utilized and new jobs for rural people created. Over 50 percent of all rural women work in agriculture. Those who work in paid employment are usually employed in factories, shops and schools.
The average size of farming families is 3.7 people, and the average number of children in rural families is 1.4. The average marrying age for rural men is 26 years and for rural women 24 years (A. Barbic, 1993).
The proportion of agriculture in GDP in 1992 was 5 percent. There are 157 000 private farms, and about 574 000 private farmers working in agriculture. Women make up 50.4 percent of the agricultural labour force. The number of state farms is 202, and the average size 428 ha. Slovenian farms are small. An increase in plant production and a decrease in animal production can be seen. The prestige of farming has been increasing lately, but less so for women farmers due to their economic dependence on the husband and the poor social and cultural infrastructure in rural areas. Usually both the husband and wife work on the farm, or the wife works on the farm and the husband outside the farm in paid employment. The proportion of farms managed by women is high, at 27.2 percent.
The educational level of rural women is lower than that of rural men. There are vocational and secondary schools of agriculture in the country, and also university faculties of agriculture. In addition, there are secondary schools of home economics and technical schools specializing in rural entrepreneurship, as well as adult education and training for the rural population. There are also agricultural extension services in agricultural technologies, mechanization, agricultural economics and rural family and supplementary activities, but none in environmental management. Slovenian rural women have educational needs in entrepreneurship, planning, management and decision-making, financing and leadership.
Rural households are relatively well-equipped and the national health care system is also available for rural people.
Under the constitution, women and men are treated equally. In order to promote the role of women in society and to secure the rights of women, the Government Office for Women's Politics was founded in 1992. There is no farmers' union in Slovenia, and all the organizations in rural areas are dominated by men.
The main problem of farm women is low incomes in agriculture. In addition, women farmers are seldom recognized as farm managers even on part-time farms. Another problem is that women's realm has traditionally been limited to the household and the farm, while participation in public life has been reserved for men. The problems of all rural women are economic dependence on the husband, social isolation, lack of professional training, lack of information and lack of free time.
The priority needs of rural women are economic independence, relevant training for supplementary activities and increased participation in public life.
The Republic of Croatia was born in 1991 after the collapse of Yugoslavian socialism. Croatia has an area of 56 538 km2 and a population of 4.8 million, of whom a majority (78.1 percent) are Croat, and a minority (12.2 percent) are Serbian. Of the total population, 76.5 percent belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Croatia has different problems than the other project countries, such as civil conflict and a high number of refugees. In addition, Croatia has high inflation and economic problems and the country is politically unstable. In 1993 GNP per caput in 1993 was US$ 2 665.
Almost half of the population (45.7 percent) live in rural areas, which are less developed than the cities. Among the rural areas a polarization can be seen, with the villages closer to urban industrial centres being far more developed than peripheral areas. Approximately 4 to 5 percent of all the rural dwellings have been completely devastated.
The percentage of women economically active in agriculture is 43.8 percent. Family farming is the main form of agricultural production. There are 533 000 farms with an average size of 2.8 ha holding two-thirds of total agricultural land. There are 150 700 private farmers and 77 000 agricultural workers (28 percent of them are women). The number of private farmers in 1991 was 91 000, of which women constituted approximately 60 000, and 447 state farms. Because the average farm size is small, there is a strong tendency for farmers to earn their income from more than one source. Approximately 34 percent of all the private farm owners work off the farm and only periodically on the farm with the family members. The socioeconomic and political status of farmers is low.
Rural women outside agriculture work in the textile or food industries and in education as teachers. Rural women are mostly on the margins of public and political life. The low social status of rural women is a reflection of the prejudices still existing against women, submissiveness to the traditional family hierarchy, insufficient education, economic dependence on men and also women's own inertia. The position of women farmer's is by far the worst as they work on their small holdings, which are poorly equipped, while the men are usually employed of farm.
The average family size in rural areas is 3.5 people and the estimated average number of children in rural families is 1.3. The level of household technology is not high and the rural infrastructure has some deficiencies; there are few telephones, health centres and dentists in rural areas although the national health care system is relatively good and functioning.
The educational level of rural women is lower than that of rural men and there is some illiteracy; in rural areas 8 percent of women and 5 percent of men are illiterate. There are agricultural schools and high schools and also university faculties of agriculture in Croatia. There are, however, no schools in home economics or rural entrepreneurship and only a few courses in adult education. There are perceived educational needs of rural women in modern agricultural technology, home economics, nutrition and entrepreneurship. Rural women also need training in processing agricultural products, marketing and selling products, village tourism and making food. Agricultural extension services are deficient and there are none in home economics, environmental issues, agrotourism or rural entrepreneurship.
There are many farmers' interest groups in Croatia, but they do not yet have any activities aimed at women. Political participation at the local and national levels is in the hands of men. The low political participation of women reflects their unfavourable position, and in spite of their legally proclaimed equality, women seldom appear in political life. The proportion of women in parliament is only 5 percent, and the situation is no better in local governments, with only 4.6 percent of the members of country assemblies and 3.7 percent of municipal councils being women. Women are more active at informal levels which are closer to their everyday problems.
The status of women within the family depends on many factors, such as the level of education, employment outside the family and the age of the spouse. Younger married couples are more democratic, but in rural areas and in less developed regions there are strong traditional beliefs about the role of women (as mother and housewife) and, regardless of the hard work she does on the farm, the help of her husband in child care and housework is minimal, and the woman is in a subordinate position relative to the man.
The main problems of rural women are their low educational level, the traditional position of women inside the family, the low social status of rural women, and their exclusion from the public life of local communities.
The priority needs of rural women are for social and cultural activities, development projects with women's involvement, and special training programmes in agricultural technology, economics and home economics.
Bulgaria has an area of 110 994 km2 with 8.5 million inhabitants. After the collapse of the former USSR, great social and political changes have taken place, and a process of privatization of land property is now on-going.
The main problems of Bulgaria are economic and political. The Bulgarian state has problems of foreign debt, recession, high levels of inflation and unemployment, the slow progress of land reform and privatization, and a lack of knowledge and experience regarding a market economy.
There are about 2.9 million people living in rural areas, and about half of them are women. The role of agriculture in the economy is important. The share of the agricultural labour force is 20 percent and agricultural production accounts for 16 percent of the total production. The main employment opportunities for women in rural areas are in agriculture, and they work full-time, part-time and seasonally in cooperatives and state farms. Whereas the level of mechanization on the state and cooperative farms used to be high, privatization has brought a lot of problems to the small farms. The prestige of both women and men farmers is low.
A special feature of Bulgarian society is the migration from cities to rural areas, which is much higher than migration in the opposite direction.
The educational level of women in rural areas is lower than that of men and there is some illiteracy. There are secondary and high schools in agriculture, but none in home economics or rural entrepreneurship. There is also some adult education and training. The perceived educational needs of rural women are in home economics, nutrition, entrepreneurship, planning, management and decision-making, financing and leadership. There are some extension services in setting up a business, but none in home economics.
The national health care system is deficient in rural areas as there are no district hospitals or dentists, and the distances to existing services are long. Employment services for rural people are also lacking.
There is a farmers' union in Bulgaria with special activities aimed at women. Women have a secondary, subordinate role in society compared with men. In the parliament, only 13 percent of all representatives are women. At the beginning of the transition towards the market economy women lost more jobs than men. In both rural and urban areas women have a higher unemployment rate than men, while men have a relatively higher monthly salary than women.
The main problems in Bulgarian rural areas include the land reform and the large number of landowners without the necessary capital. Special problems of rural women are unemployment, a low level of education and a lack of self-confidence.
The priority needs of rural women in Bulgaria are increased participation in entrepreneurship and public decision-making.
