Rural Report 2018/19 - The Impact of Change on Rural Businesses 2017 – 2020: Evidence from non-agricultural businesses in Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, the Scottish Borders and Tayside

This report presents the findings from the second of three rural business surveys being undertaken by SRUC, with funding from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government. The surveys aim to improve the knowledge base on characteristics and contributions of rural businesses in Aberdeenshire, Tayside, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
Scotland’s rural businesses make a substantial contribution to the national economy. There were an estimated 49,000 registered businesses in rural Scotland in 2018, employing 285,000 people and generating £36 billion turnover. A further 21,000 businesses were registered in small towns, employing approximately 161,000 people and generating over £18 billion turnover.
There is a growing policy interest in rural economies at Scottish and UK level. In Scotland, the National Council of Rural Advisers called for the creation of a Rural Economic Framework. Progress is being made toward launching the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency in 2020 and for a number of Regional Growth Deals, including in the Borderland